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Macon County, Alabama

Coordinates: 32°23′07″N 85°41′37″W / 32.38528°N 85.69361°W / 32.38528; -85.69361
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Macon County
County
Macon County Courthouse in Tuskegee
Macon County Courthouse in Tuskegee
Flag of Macon County
Flag
Official seal of Macon County
Seal
Map of Alabama highlighting Macon County
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Map of the United States highlighting Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°23′07″N 85°41′37″W / 32.385277777778°N 85.693611111111°W / 32.385277777778; -85.693611111111
Country United States
State Alabama
FoundedDecember 18, 1832
Named forNathaniel Macon
SeatTuskegee
Largest cityTuskegee
Area
 • Total
613 sq mi (1,590 km2)
 • Land609 sq mi (1,580 km2)
 • Water4.3 sq mi (11 km2)  0.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
19,532
 • Estimate 
(2023)
18,370 Decrease
 • Density32/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitewww.maconalabama.com
  • County Number 46 on Alabama Licence Plates

Macon County is a county located in the east central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,532.[1] Its county seat is Tuskegee.[2] Its name is in honor of Nathaniel Macon, a member of the United States Senate from North Carolina.[3]

Developed for cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, the county is considered within the Black Belt of the South. It has had a majority-black population since before the American Civil War.

History

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For thousands of years, this area was inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic tribes encountered by European explorers were the Creek people, descendants of the Mississippian culture.

Macon County was established by European Americans on December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek, following the US Congress' passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Creek were removed to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. The new settlers brought slaves with them from eastern areas of the South or purchased them at the slave market in Montgomery, New Orleans or Mobile. They developed the county for large cotton plantations.

In the first half of the twentieth century, thousands of African-Americans migrated out of the county to industrial cities in the North and Midwest for job opportunities, and the chance to escape legal segregation. Those who remained have struggled for employment in the mostly rural county, and population has declined by about one-third since 1950.

Before 1983, Macon County was primarily known as the home of historic Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, and its noted founder and first president, Booker T. Washington.

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 613 square miles (1,590 km2), of which 609 square miles (1,580 km2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11 km2) (0.7%) is water.[4]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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National protected areas

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Railroads

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
184011,247—
185026,898139.2%
186026,802−0.4%
187017,727−33.9%
188017,371−2.0%
189018,4396.1%
190023,12625.4%
191026,04912.6%
192023,561−9.6%
193027,10315.0%
194027,6542.0%
195030,56110.5%
196026,717−12.6%
197024,841−7.0%
198026,8298.0%
199024,928−7.1%
200024,105−3.3%
201021,452−11.0%
202019,532−9.0%
2023 (est.)18,370[5]−5.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8]
1990–2000[9] 2010–2020[1]

2020 Census

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Macon County, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[10] Pop 2010[11] Pop 2020[12] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 3,331 3,267 3,187 13.82% 15.23% 16.32%
Black or African American alone (NH) 20,298 17,631 15,395 84.21% 82.19% 78.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 39 28 48 0.16% 0.13% 0.25%
Asian alone (NH) 91 76 74 0.38% 0.35% 0.38%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 1 2 4 0.00% 0.01% 0.02%
Other race alone (NH) 10 12 45 0.04% 0.06% 0.23%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 162 204 418 0.67% 0.95% 2.14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 173 232 361 0.72% 1.08% 1.85%
Total 24,105 21,452 19,532 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,532 people, 7,474 households, and 4,279 families residing in the county.

2010 census

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As of the 2010 United States census, there were 21,452 people living in the county. 82.6% were Black or African American, 15.5% White, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

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As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 24,105 people, 8,950 households, and 5,543 families living in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15 people/km2). There were 10,627 housing units at an average density of 17 units per square mile (6.6 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.64% Black or African American, 13.96% White, 0.16% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,950 households, out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.70% were married couples living together, 25.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.10% were non-families. 33.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 16.90% from 18 to 24, 22.90% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,180, and the median income for a family was $28,511. Males had a median income of $25,971 versus $21,773 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,714. About 26.80% of families and 32.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.80% of those under age 18 and 26.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

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Macon County has been overwhelmingly Democratic for most of the past century and a quarter. Apart from the "dealignment" era between 1948 and 1972, and Herbert Hoover in the highly controversial 1928 election, no Republican has won so much as twenty percent of the county's vote in the past century. No Republican has obtained a majority in that time span, although Dwight D. Eisenhower won a narrow plurality in 1956.

In the elections of 1980,[14] Macon was the most Democratic county in the nation while in 1984 it was the most Democratic outside of the District of Columbia.[15] Macon County was only 0.02 percent shy of this in 1992,[16] when it gave both George H. W. Bush his smallest proportion outside of the District of Columbia and independent Ross Perot his smallest vote share in any county nationwide.

United States presidential election results for Macon County, Alabama[17]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 1,541 17.67% 7,108 81.49% 74 0.85%
2016 1,431 15.66% 7,566 82.78% 143 1.56%
2012 1,331 12.80% 9,045 87.00% 20 0.19%
2008 1,396 12.83% 9,450 86.88% 31 0.29%
2004 1,570 16.69% 7,800 82.92% 37 0.39%
2000 1,091 12.35% 7,665 86.80% 75 0.85%
1996 987 12.03% 7,018 85.55% 198 2.41%
1992 1,134 12.94% 7,253 82.78% 375 4.28%
1988 1,304 16.81% 6,351 81.88% 101 1.30%
1984 1,543 16.24% 7,857 82.71% 99 1.04%
1980 1,259 14.35% 7,028 80.10% 487 5.55%
1976 1,387 18.62% 5,915 79.41% 147 1.97%
1972 1,931 33.04% 3,636 62.21% 278 4.76%
1968 257 4.03% 4,450 69.74% 1,674 26.23%
1964 1,858 38.46% 0 0.00% 2,973 61.54%
1960 877 39.34% 1,327 59.53% 25 1.12%
1956 1,067 48.65% 1,024 46.69% 102 4.65%
1952 621 29.87% 1,457 70.08% 1 0.05%
1948 110 9.08% 0 0.00% 1,101 90.92%
1944 82 7.35% 1,032 92.56% 1 0.09%
1940 41 3.15% 1,259 96.77% 1 0.08%
1936 39 3.29% 1,146 96.71% 0 0.00%
1932 56 5.82% 905 94.07% 1 0.10%
1928 348 39.68% 526 59.98% 3 0.34%
1924 48 8.15% 538 91.34% 3 0.51%
1920 64 8.43% 693 91.30% 2 0.26%
1916 43 6.92% 575 92.59% 3 0.48%
1912 24 3.46% 647 93.23% 23 3.31%
1908 38 7.18% 482 91.12% 9 1.70%
1904 51 8.23% 562 90.65% 7 1.13%
1900 511 27.61% 1,295 69.96% 45 2.43%
1896 259 19.00% 1,043 76.52% 61 4.48%
1892 13 1.42% 200 21.81% 704 76.77%
1888 268 22.35% 931 77.65% 0 0.00%

The Sheriff of Macon County is Andre Brunson, who also was the former strength coach at Tuskegee University.[18]

Communities

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City

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Towns

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Unincorporated communities

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Places of interest

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Macon County is home to the Tuskegee University, a historically black college; Tuskegee National Forest, Tuskegee Lake, the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Museum, and Moton Field, the training site of the Tuskegee Airmen.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 195.
  4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  8. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  10. ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Macon County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
  12. ^ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Macon County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  14. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential Election statistics
  15. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1984 Presidential Election statistics
  16. ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1992 Presidential Election statistics
  17. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  18. ^ "Andre Brunson - Life Coach - Staff Directory".

32°23′07″N 85°41′37″W / 32.38528°N 85.69361°W / 32.38528; -85.69361

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