Monroe County, Alabama

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Monroe County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. As of 2000 the population was 24,324. Its county seat is Monroeville. With the exception of the City of Monroeville, Monroe County is a prohibition or entirely dry county.

Contents

1 History
2 Geography

2.1 Adjacent Counties

3 Demographics
4 Cities and towns
5 See also

History

Monroe County was established on June 29, 1815.
The county was declared a disaster area in September 1979 due to damage from Hurricane Frederic.

It was also declared a disaster area in September 2004 due to damage from Hurricane Ivan.

Monroe County was designated as The Literary Capital of Alabama because of its contribution to literature. Nelle Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird was born and raised in Monroeville, and the town is widely reputed to be the inspiration for the fictional town of Macomb. Additionally, the Old Court House in Monroeville served as the model for the courtroom scene in the movie version of TKAM. Each year, townsfolk present a stage version of TKAM, and they have taken their show on the road to such place as Israel and the Kennedy Center. In addition to Harper Lee, the town has nurtured such authors as Truman Capote (who, incindentally was Harper Lee's neighbor and childhood friend), Mark Childress, and Cynthia Tucker, the editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,679 km² (1,035 mi²). 2,657 km² (1,026 mi²) of it is land and 22 km² (9 mi²) of it (0.84%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

Wilcox County (north)
Butler County (east-northeast)
Conecuh County (east)
Escambia County (southeast)
Baldwin County (southwest)
Clarke County (west)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 24,324 people, 9,383 households, and 6,774 families residing in the county. The population density was 9/km² (24/mi²). There were 11,343 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (11/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.75% White, 40.07% Black or African American, 0.97% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 0.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,383 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 16.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,093, and the median income for a family was $34,569. Males had a median income of $31,096 versus $18,767 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,862. About 18.20% of families and 21.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.00% of those under age 18 and 21.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns