Anniston, Alabama

Encyclopedia : A : AN : ANN : Anniston, Alabama

Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in Alabama, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. The city is the county seat of Calhoun County and the urban center of the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Named the "The Model City" by Atlanta newspaperman Henry Grady for its careful planning, the city is situated on the slope of Blue Mountain, beginning point of the Blue Ridge region of the Appalachian Mountains.

Contents

1 History
2 Geography
3 Government
4 People & Culture

4.1 Demographics
4.2 Culture, Events & Attractions
4.3 Media

5 Transportation
6 Military

6.1 Education

7 Notable Residents
8 References
9 External links

History

The community name derives from Annie's Town, named for Annie Scott Tyler, wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler.

An [iron furnace] was established on the site of Anniston during the American Civil War, but it was destroyed by the federal troops in 1865; and in 1872 it was rebuilt on a much larger scale. Iron and steel manufacturing long have been a fixture of the city’s economy because of large deposits of iron ore and coal in the vicinity. The city was founded in 1872 as a private enterprise by the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Gen. Daniel Tyler (1799-1882) but was not opened for general settlement until twelve years later. It was chartered as a city in 1879.

Anniston was once known as a health resort. Early institutions included The Noble Institute, a school for girls established in 1886 by Samuel Noble (1834-1888), a wealthy iron-founder, and the Alabama Presbyterian College for Men, founded in 1905.

Anniston is the birthplace of William Levi Dawson (b. 23 Sept 1899), composer of Negro Folk Symphony. During the American civil rights movement a Freedom Riders bus was fire-bombed near Anniston on Mother's Day Sunday May 14, 1961. The civil rights protestors inside were beaten by an angry mob from Anniston as they fled the burning bus.

Anniston was also the birthplace of Red Byron, NASCAR's first champion.

Geography

Anniston is located at 33°39'46.811" North, 85°49'35.990" West (33.663003, -85.826664)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 117.7 km² (45.5 mi²). 117.7 km² (45.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.07%) is water.

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 managed 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.

A United States Courthouse, part of the U.S. Alabama Northern District Court, is located at the corner of 12th and Noble streets.

People & Culture

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 24,276 people, 10,447 households, and 6,414 families residing in the city. The population density was 206.3/km² (534.4/mi²). There were 12,787 housing units at an average density of 108.7/km² (281.5/mi²). 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.

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.

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.

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.

Culture, Events & Attractions

Anniston long has served as a cultural center for northeastern Alabama. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival was founded in the city in 1972 before moving to Montgomery in 1985. [The Knox Concert Series] regularly brings world-renowned musical and dance productions to the area. The city also is home to the [Anniston Museum of Natural History] and the [Berman Museum of World History]. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2004 has performed a summer series of outdoor concerts, [Music at McClellan], in Anniston at the former Ft. McClellan. Organizers have said they hope to make the concerts the center of an arts community at the closed army base.

The city has many examples of Victorian-style homes, some of which have been restored or preserved. Many others have been destroyed or are in dilapidated conditions. Several of the city’s churches are architecturally significant or historic, including the [Church of St. Michael and All Angels], [Grace Episcopal Church], and Parker Memorial Baptist Church. [Temple Beth EL], dedicated in 1893, has the oldest building in the state continuously and currently being used for Jewish worship.

Home of the self-proclaimed "World's Largest Chair," a 33-foot structure built by a local office-supply company.

After decades of decay, Noble Street, is seeing a rebirth as a downtown shopping and dinning district in the heart of downtown. There are several large shopping centers in the area as well, such as the Quintard Mall and the Oxford Exchange, both located just ouside town in Oxford.

Media

Anniston is served by one daily newspaper, The Anniston Star, which also covers and is delivered to communities in the surrounding five-county region.

Commercial radio stations with broadcast facilities in the city include WHMA 95.5-FM, WHMA 1390-AM and WDNG 1450-AM. WVOK 98.7 FM (though its office is in Oxford) has its tower in Anniston.

Television station with brodcast facilities, WJXS-TV, known TV 24, is the only station that directly brodcasts from Anniston (area), but many Birmingham stations as have towers, as well as operate news bureaus here, that cover Northeast Alabama, such as WJSU-TV (WJSU is a local broadcast station for Birmingham-based ABC 33/40), WBRC-TV (FOX), and WVTM-TV (NBC).

Anniston is a part of the Birmingham-Anniston-Tuscaloosa designated market area when it comes to television. Radio stations are divided up into three sub markets within that market, where Anniston is in the Anniston-Gadsden-Talladega radio sub market.

Transportation

The Anniston Metropolitan Airport is a general aviation facility, south of the city proper, in Oxford. Its single asphalt runway is 7,000 feet long and 150 feet wide.

Amtrak's Crescent train connects Anniston with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans. The Amtrak station is situated at the Southern Railway Depot, lolcated at 126 West 4th Street.

Built in 1926, the depot will soon undergo a major renovation. The city purchased the station in 2001 for $430,000 from federal grants for the restoration, in hopes of turning the building into a multi modal transportation hub for the city. It will serve by Amtrak (train), Greyhound (bus), and local taxi and bus services if goes as planned.

Military

Anniston is home to the United States Army's 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. Fort McClellan, formerly site of the U.S. Army Military Police Training Academy and Chemical Warfare training center, was de-commissioned in the 1990's. A portion of the former fort is now home to the Alabama National Guard Training Center. Another 9000 acres 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 decomissioned fort for training and fieldwork.

Education

Public schools in Anniston are operated by Anniston City Schools.

Notable Residents

Red Byron, NASCAR driver
David Satcher former Surgeon General
Michael Biehn actor

References

The Model City of the New South: Anniston, Alabama 1872-1900, Grace Hooten Gates, Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996.

External links

[Portrait of Annie Scott Tyler] The town of Anniston, Alabama, was renamed "Annie's Town" in honor of Annie Scott Tyler, wife of Gen. Tyler's son, Alfred

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