Macon County, Alabama

Last updated

Macon County
County
Macon County Court House.jpg
Macon County Courthouse in Tuskegee
Flag of Macon County, Alabama.png
Flag
Seal of Macon County, Alabama.png
Seal
Map of Alabama highlighting Macon County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama in United States.svg
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°23′07″N85°41′37″W / 32.385277777778°N 85.693611111111°W / 32.385277777778; -85.693611111111
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Alabama.svg Alabama
FoundedDecember 18, 1832
Named after Nathaniel Macon
Seat Tuskegee
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 
(2024)
18,159 Decrease2.svg
 • Density32/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 2nd
Website www.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]

Contents

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

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

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

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Railroads

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1840 11,247—
1850 26,898139.2%
1860 26,802−0.4%
1870 17,727−33.9%
1880 17,371−2.0%
1890 18,4396.1%
1900 23,12625.4%
1910 26,04912.6%
1920 23,561−9.6%
1930 27,10315.0%
1940 27,6542.0%
1950 30,56110.5%
1960 26,717−12.6%
1970 24,841−7.0%
1980 26,8298.0%
1990 24,928−7.1%
2000 24,105−3.3%
2010 21,452−11.0%
2020 19,532−9.0%
2024 (est.)18,159 [5] −7.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [6]
1790–1960 [7] 1900–1990 [8]
1990–2000 [9] 2010–2020 [1]

2020 Census

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)3,3313,2673,18713.82%15.23%16.32%
Black or African American alone (NH)20,29817,63115,39584.21%82.19%78.82%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3928480.16%0.13%0.25%
Asian alone (NH)9176740.38%0.35%0.38%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)1240.00%0.01%0.02%
Other race alone (NH)1012450.04%0.06%0.23%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1622044180.67%0.95%2.14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)1732323610.72%1.08%1.85%
Total24,10521,45219,532100.00%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

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

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

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. Although Donald Trump in 2024 was able to crack 20% of the vote for the first time since Nixon in 1972, Macon County was still the most Democratic county in Alabama in that election.

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. %
1836 15081.52%3418.48%00.00%
1840 73168.25%34031.75%00.00%
1844 1,08763.46%62636.54%00.00%
1848 1,46473.35%53226.65%00.00%
1852 77250.49%65843.03%996.47%
1856 00.00%1,03945.61%1,23954.39%
1860 00.00%461.89%2,39498.11%
1868 2,32768.40%1,07531.60%00.00%
1872 2,07368.62%94831.38%00.00%
1876 88137.11%1,49362.89%00.00%
1880 19126.20%53873.80%00.00%
1884 8019.85%32380.15%00.00%
1888 26822.35%93177.65%00.00%
1892 131.42%20021.81%70476.77%
1896 25919.00%1,04376.52%614.48%
1900 51127.61%1,29569.96%452.43%
1904 518.23%56290.65%71.13%
1908 387.18%48291.12%91.70%
1912 243.46%64793.23%233.31%
1916 436.92%57592.59%30.48%
1920 648.43%69391.30%20.26%
1924 488.15%53891.34%30.51%
1928 34839.68%52659.98%30.34%
1932 565.82%90594.07%10.10%
1936 393.29%1,14696.71%00.00%
1940 413.15%1,25996.77%10.08%
1944 827.35%1,03292.56%10.09%
1948 1109.08%00.00%1,10190.92%
1952 62129.87%1,45770.08%10.05%
1956 1,06748.65%1,02446.69%1024.65%
1960 87739.34%1,32759.53%251.12%
1964 1,85838.46%00.00%2,97361.54%
1968 2574.03%4,45069.74%1,67426.23%
1972 1,93133.04%3,63662.21%2784.76%
1976 1,38718.62%5,91579.41%1471.97%
1980 1,25914.35%7,02880.10%4875.55%
1984 1,54316.24%7,85782.71%991.04%
1988 1,30416.81%6,35181.88%1011.30%
1992 1,13412.94%7,25382.78%3754.28%
1996 98712.03%7,01885.55%1982.41%
2000 1,09112.35%7,66586.80%750.85%
2004 1,57016.69%7,80082.92%370.39%
2008 1,39612.83%9,45086.88%310.29%
2012 1,33112.80%9,04587.00%200.19%
2016 1,43115.66%7,56682.78%1431.56%
2020 1,54117.67%7,10881.49%740.85%
2024 1,68221.47%6,08477.66%680.87%

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

Communities

City

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Places of interest

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

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  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″N85°41′37″W / 32.38528°N 85.69361°W / 32.38528; -85.69361

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