Bibb County, Alabama

Last updated

Bibb County
County
Bibb County, Alabama courthouse.jpg
Bibb County Courthouse and Confederate monument in Centreville
Map of Alabama highlighting Bibb County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama in United States.svg
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°59′52″N87°07′35″W / 32.99778°N 87.12639°W / 32.99778; -87.12639
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Alabama.svg Alabama
FoundedFebruary 7, 1818
Named after William W. Bibb
Seat Centreville
Largest city Brent
Area
 • Total
626 sq mi (1,620 km2)
 • Land623 sq mi (1,610 km2)
 • Water3.6 sq mi (9 km2)  0.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
22,293
 • Estimate 
(2024)
22,258 Decrease2.svg
 • Density36/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 6th
Website www.bibbal.com
  • County Number 07 on Alabama License Plates

Bibb County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. The county is a part of the Birmingham, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area , and is included in the ARC's definition of Appalachia. As of the 24th decennial 2020 census, its population was 22,293. [1] The county seat is Centreville. [2] The county is named in honor of William W. Bibb (1781–1820), the Governor of Alabama Territory (1817–1819) and the first Governor of Alabama (1819–1820, when he died). He is also the namesake for Bibb County, Georgia, where he began his political career. It is a "prohibition" or dry county; however, a few towns have become "wet" by allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages: Woodstock (December 2017), West Blocton (August 2012), Centreville (June 2010), and Brent (May 2010). [3] The Bibb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of Centreville.

Contents

History

Cahawba County was established ("erected") on February 7, 1818, named for the Cahawba River (now more commonly known as Cahaba River). This name came from the Choctaw language word meaning "water above." On December 4, 1820, it was renamed as Bibb County. [4]

In the wake of the American Civil War, the state legislature passed laws to create a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration and effectively excluded Freedmen from the political process. Many residents resisted the objectives of Union occupation both during and after Reconstruction because they wanted to restore the Antebellum social and political norms. During this time of transition, Bibb, Dallas, and Pickens counties held the third-highest number of lynchings in the state. [5] On June 18, 1919, Jim McMillan was lynched by a White mob. On November 7, 2000, Bibb County voted against a proposed amendment to Alabama's constitution to abolish the prohibition of interracial marriages. [6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 626 square miles (1,620 km2), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (0.6%) is water. [7]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Endemic species

Several species of plants are endemic to Bibb County, Alabama; that is, they grow in this county and nowhere else in the world.

Transportation

Major highways

Rail

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1820 3,676—
1830 6,30671.5%
1840 8,28431.4%
1850 9,96920.3%
1860 11,89419.3%
1870 7,469−37.2%
1880 9,48727.0%
1890 13,82445.7%
1900 18,49833.8%
1910 22,79123.2%
1920 23,1441.5%
1930 20,780−10.2%
1940 20,155−3.0%
1950 17,987−10.8%
1960 14,357−20.2%
1970 13,812−3.8%
1980 15,72313.8%
1990 16,5765.4%
2000 20,82625.6%
2010 22,91510.0%
2020 22,293−2.7%
2024 (est.)22,258 [17] −0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [18]
1790–1960 [19] 1900–1990 [20]
1990–2000 [21] 2010–2020 [1]

2020 Census

Bibb 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 [22] Pop 2010 [23] Pop 2020 [24] % 2000% 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)15,87017,19116,44276.20%75.02%73.75%
Black or African American alone (NH)4,5845,0244,39022.01%21.92%19.69%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4664390.22%0.28%0.17%
Asian alone (NH)1722260.08%0.10%0.12%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)2790.01%0.03%0.04%
Other race alone (NH)020470.00%0.09%0.21%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)971816000.47%0.79%2.69%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)2104067401.01%1.77%3.32%
Total20,82622,91522,293100.00%100.00%100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,293 people, 6,891 households, and 4,789 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the census [25] of 2010, there were 22,915 people, 7,953 households, and 5,748 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14 people/km2). There were 8,981 housing units at an average density of 14.3 units per square mile (5.5 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 75.8% White, 22.0% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Of the population, 1.8% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,953 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. Of all households, 24.5% were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,770, and the median income for a family was $51,956. Males had a median income of $40,219 versus $28,085 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,918. About 9.4% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Rural flight

From 1920 to 1970, the population of the rural county declined considerably. Many African Americans joined the Great Migration to northern and western cities, to escape the violence and racial oppression of Jim Crow. [26]

Education

Bibb County contains one public school district. There are approximately 3,100 students in public K-12 schools in Bibb County. [27]

Districts

School districts include: [28]

Government and infrastructure

United States presidential election results for Bibb County, Alabama [29]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1904 15511.87%1,08583.08%665.05%
1908 13915.14%67072.98%10911.87%
1912 403.51%82071.87%28124.63%
1916 21713.67%1,24778.58%1237.75%
1920 36416.95%1,64376.49%1416.56%
1924 25118.27%87563.68%24818.05%
1928 1,00345.61%1,18854.02%80.36%
1932 1458.00%1,63690.29%311.71%
1936 1909.20%1,86890.42%80.39%
1940 1738.60%1,82190.51%180.89%
1944 24415.78%1,28783.25%150.97%
1948 1239.16%00.00%1,22090.84%
1952 78428.31%1,97171.18%140.51%
1956 1,00438.88%1,47156.97%1074.14%
1960 1,05238.23%1,69761.66%30.11%
1964 2,62383.94%00.00%50216.06%
1968 2635.63%65213.95%3,75880.42%
1972 3,33278.44%83719.70%791.86%
1976 1,59135.56%2,85063.70%330.74%
1980 2,49144.30%3,09755.08%350.62%
1984 3,48761.32%2,16738.10%330.58%
1988 2,88556.06%2,24443.61%170.33%
1992 3,12446.49%2,90043.15%69610.36%
1996 3,03748.20%2,77544.04%4897.76%
2000 4,27360.17%2,71038.16%1181.66%
2004 5,47272.00%2,08927.49%390.51%
2008 6,26272.44%2,29926.60%830.96%
2012 6,13272.83%2,20226.15%861.02%
2016 6,73876.40%1,87421.25%2072.35%
2020 7,52578.43%1,98620.70%840.88%
2024 7,57281.80%1,61917.49%660.71%

Bibb County has a five-member County Commission, elected from single-member districts. Members take turns in serving as chairman of the commission, rotating the position every nine and a half months. [30]

Alabama Department of Corrections operates the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent. [31]

Bibb County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election was Jimmy Carter, who won it by a majority in 1980 despite narrowly losing the state of Alabama to Ronald Reagan. The county strongly supported independent pro-segregation presidential candidates Strom Thurmond in 1948 and George Wallace in 1968.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Places of interest

Bibb County is home to the Talladega National Forest supervised by the United States Forestry Service (of the U.S. Department of Agriculture), and a section of the Cahaba River which draws visitors to view the unique "Cahaba Lily" (known by its scientific Latinized name Hymenocallis coronaria ).

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Wet and Dry Counties of Alabama". Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. State of Alabama. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Alabama Counties: Bibb County". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Montgomery, AL. December 13, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Supplement: Lynchings by County/ Alabama: Bibb", 2nd edition Archived April 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , from Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, 2015, Equal Justice Institute, Montgomery, Alabama
  6. ↑ ""Alabama Secretary of State: State and local proposed constitutional amendments"" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 343.
  9. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 728.
  10. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1322.
  11. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1348.
  12. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1395.
  13. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1523.
  14. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1603.
  15. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1651.
  16. ↑ Weakely, Alan S. (2022). Flora of the Southeastern United States. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. p. 1693.
  17. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  18. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  20. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  22. ↑ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Bibb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau .
  23. ↑ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bibb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau .
  24. ↑ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bibb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau .
  25. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  26. ↑ Lee, Johnathan (February 17, 2015). "Great Migration Shortened Lives of Blacks Who Fled Jim Crow South". NBC News. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Search for Public School Districts - Bibb County, AL". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  28. ↑ "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Bibb County, AL" (PDF). United States Census Bureau . Retrieved September 4, 2022. Text list.
  29. ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections" . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  30. ↑ "County Commission". Bibb County, Alabama website.
  31. ↑ " "Bibb Correctional Facility". Alabama Department of Corrections . Archived from the original on July 4, 2006. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
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