Anniston, Alabama
Anniston, Alabama | |
---|---|
— City — | |
Downtown Anniston in 2012. | |
Nickname(s): The Model City | |
Location in Alabama | |
Coordinates: 33°39′46″N 85°49′35″W / 33.66278°N 85.82639°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Alabama |
County | Calhoun |
Settled | April 1872 |
Incorporated | July 3, 1883 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Gene Robinson |
Area | |
• City | 45 sq mi (116.5 km2) |
• Land | 45.4 sq mi (117.7 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
Elevation | 719 ft (219 m) |
Population (2010)[1] | |
• City | 23,106 |
• Density | 534.4/sq mi (203.8/km2) |
• Metro | 118,572 |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP code | 36201-36207 |
Area code(s) | 256 |
FIPS code | 01-01852 |
GNIS feature ID | 0159066 |
Website | www.annistonal.gov |
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 23,106. According to the 2011 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 22,959. The city is the county seat of Calhoun County and one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Named The Model City by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady for its careful planning in the late 19th century, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] The Civil War
Though the surrounding area was settled long before, the mineral resources in the area of Anniston weren't exploited until the Civil War. During that time, the Confederate States of America established and operated an iron furnace near present day downtown Anniston, until the furnace was destroyed by Union troops in 1865. Later, cast iron for sewer systems became the focus of Anniston's industrial output. Cast iron pipe, also called soil pipe, was popular until the advent of plastic pipe in the 1960s.
In 1865, at the end of the Civil War, Union troops near the furnace wrongfully hanged one of the few residents. Charley Lloyd, a farmer working the land in what is now Anniston west of Noble Street, was executed by Union General John Croxton for allegedly shooting a Union cavalryman. In fact, the Union trooper had been killed by a Confederate soldier who was fighting the continuing destruction of local facilities. Croxton's only evidence against Lloyd was that the shooting took place near Lloyd's farm.[2]
[edit] The Woodstock Iron Company
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121102102749im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/1887_Perspective_Map_of_Anniston_Alabama.jpg/350px-1887_Perspective_Map_of_Anniston_Alabama.jpg)
In 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Union Gen. Daniel Tyler, rebuilt the furnace on a much larger scale, as well as started a planned community named Woodstock but later renamed "Anniston" for Annie Scott Tyler, wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler. Anniston was chartered as a town in 1873.[3]
Though the roots of the town's economy were in iron, steel and pipe clay, planners touted it as a health resort, and several hotels began operating. Schools also appeared, including The Noble Institute, a school for girls established in 1886,[4] and The Alabama Presbyterian College for Men, founded in 1905. Careful planning and easy access to rail transportation helped make Anniston the fifth largest city in the state from 1890's to 1950s.
[edit] World Wars I and II
In 1917, at the start of World War I, the United States Army established a training camp at Fort McClellan. On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot opened during World War II as a major weapons storage and maintenance site, a role it continues to serve as munitions-incineration progresses. Most of the site of Fort McClellan was incorporated into Anniston in the late 1990s, and The Army closed the fort in 1999 following the Base Realignment and Closure round of 1995.
[edit] The Civil Rights era
Anniston was the center of national controversy in 1961 when a mob bombed a bus filled with civilian Freedom Riders during the American civil rights movement. The Freedom Riders were riding an integrated bus to protest Alabama's Jim Crow segregation laws that denied African Americans their civil rights. One of the buses was fire-bombed outside of Anniston on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14, 1961. As the bus burned, the mob held the doors shut, intent on burning the riders to death. An exploding fuel tank caused the mob to retreat, allowing the riders to escape the bus. The Riders were viciously beaten as they tried to flee, and only warning shots fired into the air by highway patrolmen prevented the riders from being lynched on the spot.[5] Located along Alabama Highway 202 W about five miles (8 km) west of downtown, the site today is home to a historic marker.[6]
In response to the violence, the city formed a bi-racial Human Relations Council (HRC) made up of prominent white business and religious leaders, but when they attempted to integrate the "whites-only" public library on Sunday afternoon, September 15, 1963 (the same day as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham), further violence ensued and two black ministers, N.Q. Reynolds and Bob McClain, were severely beaten by a mob. The HRC chairman, white Presbyterian minister Rev. Phil Noble, worked with an elder of his church, Anniston City Commissioner Miller Sproull, to avoid KKK mob domination of the city. In a telephone conference with President John F. Kennedy, the President informed the HRC that after the Birmingham church bombing he had stationed additional Federal Troops at Fort McClellan. On September 16, 1963, with city police present, Noble and Sproull escorted Black ministers into the library.[7] In February 1964, Anniston Hardware, owned by the Sproull family, was bombed, presumably in retaliation for Commissioner Sproull's integration efforts.
On the night July 15, 1965 a white racist rally was held in Anniston, after which Willie Brewster, a black foundry worker, was shot and killed while driving home from work. A $20,000 reward was raised by Anniston civic leaders, and resulted in the apprehension, trial and conviction of the accused killer, Damon Strange, who worked for a leader of the Ku Klux Klan.[8] Historian Taylor Branch called the conviction of Damon Strange a "breakthrough verdict" on p. 391 of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, At Canaan's Edge. Strange was convicted by an all-white Calhoun County jury to the surprise of many people, including civil rights leaders who had planned to protest an acquittal. This was the first conviction of a white person for killing a black person in civil rights era Alabama.[9]
[edit] Geography
At the southernmost length of the Blue Ridge, part of the Appalachian Mountains, Anniston's environment is home to diverse species of birds, reptiles and mammals. Part of the former Fort McClellan is now operating as Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge to protect endangered Southern Longleaf Pine species.[citation needed]
Anniston is located at 33°39′46″N 85°49′35″W / 33.66278°N 85.82639°W (33.663003, −85.826664)[10].
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 45.5 square miles (118 km2) of which 45.4 square miles (118 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.07%) is water.[11]
In 2003, part of the town of Blue Mountain was annexed into the city of Anniston, while the remaining portion of the town reverted to unincorporated Calhoun County.[12]
[edit] Government
Anniston is governed by Alabama's "weak mayor" form of city government. Four city council members are elected to represent the city's four wards, and the mayor is elected at-large. Day-to-day functions of city government are carried out by the city manager, who is appointed by the mayor and city council.
Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama. Circuit and district courts for the county and the district attorney's office are located in the Calhoun County Courthouse at the corner of 11th Street and Gurnee Avenue. Other county administrative offices are in the Calhoun County Administrative Building at the corner of 17th and Noble streets, and a United States Courthouse, part of the U.S. Alabama Northern District Court, is located at the corner of 12th and Noble streets.
[edit] People and culture
[edit] Demographics
[edit] 2000 Census data
Historical populations | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1880 | 942 |
|
|
1890 | 9,998 | 961.4% | |
1900 | 9,695 | −3.0% | |
1910 | 12,794 | 32.0% | |
1920 | 17,734 | 38.6% | |
1930 | 22,345 | 26.0% | |
1940 | 25,523 | 14.2% | |
1950 | 31,066 | 21.7% | |
1960 | 33,320 | 7.3% | |
1970 | 31,533 | −5.4% | |
1980 | 29,135 | −7.6% | |
1990 | 26,623 | −8.6% | |
2000 | 24,276 | −8.8% | |
2010 | 23,106 | −4.8% | |
Est. 2011 | 22,959 | −0.6% | |
2011 estimate |
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,276 people, 10,447 households, and 6,414 families residing in the city. The population density was 534.4 inhabitants per square mile (206.3 /km2). There were 12,787 housing units at an average density of 281.5 per square mile (108.7 /km2).[11] The racial makeup of the city was 48.71% White, 48.69% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[13]
There were 10,447 households out of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.91.[13]
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.[13]
The median income for a household in the city was $27,385, and the median income for a family was $36,067. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,614 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,769. About 20.1% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.[13]
[edit] Culture, events and attractions
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121102102749im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/World%27s_Largest_Chair%2C_Anniston%2C_Alabama.jpg/200px-World%27s_Largest_Chair%2C_Anniston%2C_Alabama.jpg)
In 1899, the county seat of Calhoun County moved from Jacksonville to Anniston. More than 100 years later, the community is a bustling center of industry and commerce with more than 24,000 residents. Over the years, city officials and local citizens have worked to retain the environmental beauty of the area while allowing it to thrive economically and to preserve its history. The Spirit of Anniston Main Street Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization started in 1993, spearheaded the restoration and revitalization of historic downtown Anniston, with a strong focus on the city's main thoroughfare, Noble Street.
The Noble Streetscape Project encouraged local business owners to refurbish storefront facades, while historic homes throughout the downtown area have been repaired and returned to their former glory. The preservation effort even included the historic Calhoun County Courthouse, located on the corner of 11th Street & Gurnee Avenue since 1900. The original building burned down in 1931, but the courthouse was rebuilt a year later. Thanks to a complete restoration in 1990, the stately structure is still in use today.
Anniston has long been a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in the city in 1972, and remained there until moving to Montgomery in 1985 seeking more robust financial support. The Knox Concert Series produces an annual season of world-renowned musical and dance productions, and the Community Actors' Studio Theatre community theatre organization performs plays, musicals, and revues featuring local performers, actors, and musicians. CAST also features specially funded programs to educate area children in the arts for free. The city also is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History. These institutions house mummies, dioramas of wildlife and artifacts from a bygone age in contemporary, professional displays and exhibits. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, Music at McClellan, at the former Fort McClellan.
The city has many examples of Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Several of the city’s churches are architecturally significant or historic, including Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Grace Episcopal Church, Parker Memorial Baptist Church, and the little-known predominately African-American church, Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in what is known as the Zion Hill community. Temple Beth EL, dedicated in 1893, is the oldest building in the state continuously used for Jewish worship.
The original main street, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a downtown shopping and dining district in the heart of downtown, but the large shopping centers in the area are located in Oxford, south of Anniston along Interstate 20. Oxford is home to Quintard Mall and the newly developed Oxford Exchange. The area's Eastern Bypass will be among the big transportation winners if Congress gives final approval to a $789 billion economic stimulus package.[14] A portion of the bypass (from Golden Springs to Iron Mountain Road in the McClellan area) was opened in late January 2011, joining the previously opened stretch from I-20 to Golden Springs.[15]
The Chief Ladiga Trail, it and the Silver Comet Trail combined are a 90+ mile paved rail trail, has its west terminus in Anniston.
[edit] Media
Anniston is served by two daily newspapers: The Birmingham News statewide edition, and the local 25,000 circulation daily paper, The Anniston Star. Anniston-based Consolidated Publishing Co., publisher of The Anniston Star, also owns and operates advertising-supported newspapers in nearby Jacksonville, Piedmont and Cleburne County. Local radio stations include WHMA AM and FM, WDNG 1450-AM and WHOG 1120 AM.
WJXS-TV, is the only station that directly broadcasts from the Anniston area, but many Birmingham stations have towers and news bureaus here, such as WJSU-TV (WJSU is a local broadcast station for Birmingham-based ABC 33/40), WBRC-TV (Fox), and WVTM-TV (NBC). Alabama Public Television erected its tallest tower atop Mount Cheaha a dozen miles away from Anniston. WJSU-TV 40 was historically a local CBS affiliate, broadcasting local newscasts daily.
Formerly its own Arbitron-defined broadcast market, today Anniston is a part of the Birmingham-Anniston-Tuscaloosa television designated market area. Radio stations are divided up into three sub markets within that market; Anniston is in the Anniston-Gadsden-Talladega radio sub market.
[edit] Chemical cleanup
In 2002, an investigation by 60 minutes[16] revealed Anniston had been among the most toxic cities in the country. The primary source of local contamination was a Monsanto chemical factory, which had already been closed. The [1] EPA description[17] of the site reads in part:
The Anniston PCB site consists of residential, commercial, and public properties located in and around Anniston, Calhoun County, Alabama, that contain or may contain hazardous substances, including polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) impacted media. The Site is not listed on the NPL, but is considered to be a NPL-caliber site. Solutia Inc.'s Anniston plant encompasses approximately 70 acres of land and is located about 1 mile west of downtown Anniston, Alabama. The plant is bounded to the north by the Norfolk Southern and Erie railroads, to the east by Clydesdale Avenue, to the west by First Avenue, and to the south by U.S. Highway 202. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were produced at the plant from 1929 until 1971.
Anniston residents filed class action suits against Monsanto Company for knowingly dumping PCBs in west Anniston.[18]
[edit] Military
[edit] Anniston Army Depot
Anniston is home to the Anniston Army Depot which is used for the maintenance of most Army tracked vehicles. The depot houses a major chemical weapons storage facility, the Anniston Chemical Activity, and a program to destroy those weapons, the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. In 2003, the Anniston Army Depot began the process of destroying the chemical weapons it had stored at the Depot and at Fort McClellan.[citation needed] An incinerator was built to destroy the stockpile of Sarin and VX nerve agent and mustard blister agent stored at the depot. The depot, along with associated defense contractors, is now Anniston's largest employer.[citation needed] Destruction of the weapons was completed in 2011.[citation needed]
[edit] Fort McClellan
Fort McClellan, former site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy and Chemical Warfare training center, was de-commissioned in the 1990s. A portion of the former fort is now home to the Alabama National Guard Training Center. Another 9,000 acres (36 km2) of the fort were set aside for the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in 2003. The Department of Homeland Security also uses a portion of the de-commissioned fort for the Center for Domestic Preparedness, the nation's only civilian "live agent" training center; emergency response providers from all over the world come to Fort McClellan to be trained in dealing with live agents and weapons in a real-time, monitored setting.[citation needed]
[edit] Education
Public schools in Anniston are operated by Anniston City Schools. These include:
- Anniston High School (Grades 9–12)
- Anniston Middle School (Grades 6–8)
- Cobb Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Constantine Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Golden Springs Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Randolph Park Elementary School (Grades K-5)
- Tenth Street Elementary School (Grades K-5)
The school system boasts one of the most high tech computing capabilities in the state [According to representatives from Huntsville as well as various News Agencies.] Every school is equipped with State of the Art MAC (Apple) labs, which includes two 55" plasma screen monitors, Inter-Active Smart Boards (which are also populated throughout the school system) as well as additional computer labs at many of the schools. This does not include the ACCESS lab at the High School used to interact with other schools within the state. These are all connected by high speed OC 48 fiber [donated by Mr. Donald Stewart, and installed by JKM, Inc.] As these capabilities are brought to bear and educators take full advantage of these capabilities, students attending Anniston City Schools will easily out-pace many similar schools of their size and larger. While the school system has suffered from declining numbers of white students over the past 10 years, it is hoped that this will change as the new by-pass is completed and further economic growth in the area begins to take place on the property of the former Fort McClellan.
A public four-year institution of higher learning, Jacksonville State University, is located in nearby Jacksonville, Alabama. Anniston is also home to some satellite campuses of Gadsden State Community College, both at the former Fort McClellan and at the Ayers campus in southern Anniston.
There are also several private Primary and Secondary schools in Anniston, including:
- Faith Christian School, with a Christian curriculum
- Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, a longstanding Roman Catholic school
- The Donoho School. a K-12 college-preparatory school
[edit] Notable residents and former residents
- General Edward "Ned" Almond
- George T. Anderson, Civil War general
- Michael Biehn, actor
- Larry Bowie, former American NFL football player
- Anne Braden, Civil Rights activist
- Dakoda Brookes, pornographic actress
- June Burn, author
- Red Byron, NASCAR driver
- Asa Earl Carter, Segregationist, speech writer, and author of The Education of Little Tree
- Quinton Caver, American NFL football player
- B. B. Comer, Governor of Alabama
- John Craton, classical composer
- Michael Curry, NBA player
- Cow Cow Davenport, Boogie-woogie pianist
- Eric Davis, NFL corner back
- William Levi Dawson, (1899–1990), composer of Negro Folk Symphony
- Bobby Edwards, country singer
- Andra Franklin, NFL football player
- Kevin Greene, retired American NFL football player
- Audrey Marie Hilley, famous for poisoning her husband and trying to poison her daughter
- Delvin Hughley, American Arena Football League and former NFL football player
- Thomas Kilby, eighth Lieutenant Governor of Alabama and the 36th Governor of Alabama[19]
- Perry Lentz, author and professor of English
- Douglas Leigh, innovative lighting designer of Times Square and the Empire State Building
- Harry Mabry, television news director and anchor
- Kivuusama Mays, former American NFL football player
- Lucky Millinder, Rhythm and blues and swing band leader and singer
- Katherine Orrison, author and film historian
- Will Owsley, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter
- John L. Pennington, Newspaper publisher, governor of Dakota Territory
- Mike D. Rogers, Congressman from Alabama's 3rd congressional district
- Patrick J. Que Smith, Grammy winning songwriter
- Shannon Spruill, professional wrestler
- David Satcher, former Surgeon General
- Vaughn Stewart, former NFL football player
- Max Wellborn, Chairman and Governor of Atlanta Fed
[edit] References
- ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- ^ Croxton's Raid by Rex Miller, p.88
- ^ Sprayberry, Gary. "Anniston". Encyclopdeia of Alabama. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1464. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ located along Leighton Ave, on the corner of Leighton Ave and E 11th St., facing Christine Ave.
- ^ "Get On the Bus: The Freedom Riders of 1961". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5149667. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
- ^ Dan, Whisenhunt (May 13, 2007). JSU News Wire "A Single Step: Memorial to 'Freedom Riders'Just a Beginning". Jacksonville State University News. Jacksonville State University. http://www.jsu.edu/news/jan_june2007/05142007c.html JSU News Wire. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ Beyond the Burning Bus: The Civil Rights Revolution in a Southern Town by Phil Noble, p. 123
- ^ "The Death of Willie Brewster: Memories of a Dark Time."
- ^ "The Death of Willie Brewster : An appraisal of Anniston's moment of shame and triumph."
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b "Geographic Comparison Table- Alabama". American Fact Finder. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=04000US01&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-PH1&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-format=ST-7. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ U.S.Census change list
- ^ a b c d "Fact Sheet- Aniston city, Alabama". American Fact Finder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=anniston&_cityTown=anniston&_state=04000US01&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- ^ "Anniston bypass, Huntsville overpass are big winners if Obama OKs stimulus plan". http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/02/anniston_bypass_huntsville_ove.html. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ Camper, Laura (January 19, 2011). "Parkway opens to public, at last". The Anniston Star. http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/11054594/article-Parkway-opens-to-public--at-last?. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ "Toxic Secret". 60 Minutes. August 31, 2003. CBS. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/07/60minutes/main528581.shtml?source=search_story.
- ^ "U.S.EPA Fact Sheet Anniston PCB Site" (PDF). United States Environmental ProtectionAgency. August 2002. http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/nplal/annpcbfsaug02.pdf. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYO2k_o16E0
- ^ [http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_kilbyt.html "Thomas Erby Kilby publisher= Alabama Department of Archives & History"]. http://www.archives.state.al.us/govs_list/g_kilbyt.html. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Grace Hooten Gates (1996). The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama 1872–1900. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0818-0.
[edit] Further reading
- Kimberly O'Dell (2000). Anniston. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-0601-X.
[edit] External links
- Institute of Southern Jewish Life's History of Anniston
- Anniston article in the Encyclopedia of Alabama
Coordinates: 33°39′47″N 85°49′36″W / 33.663003°N 85.826664°W
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- Cities in Alabama
- Populated places in Calhoun County, Alabama
- Anniston, Alabama
- County seats in Alabama
- History of African-American civil rights
- History of civil rights in the United States
- Racially motivated violence in the United States
- Riots and civil disorder in the United States
- Terrorist incidents in the United States
- White supremacy in the United States
- Populated places established in 1872