DeKalb County, Alabama

County in Alabama, United States

County in Alabama

DeKalb County

County

DeKalb County Courthouse in Fort Payne

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Alabama

Alabama's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 34°27′26″N 85°48′24″W﻿ / ﻿34.4572°N 85.8067°W﻿ / 34.4572; -85.8067
Country|  United States
State|  Alabama
Founded| January 9, 1836
Named after| Johann de Kalb
Seat| Fort Payne
Largest city| Fort Payne
Area

• Total

| 779 sq mi (2,020 km2)
• Land| 777 sq mi (2,010 km2)
• Water| 1.6 sq mi (4 km2)  0.2%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 71,608

• Estimate

(2023)

| 72,569
• Density| 92/sq mi (35/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 4th
Website| www.dekalbcountyal.us

* County Number 28 on Alabama License Plates

DeKalb County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,608.[1] Its county seat is Fort Payne,[2] and it is named after Major General Baron Johann de Kalb. DeKalb County is part of the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area.

## History

[edit]

DeKalb County was created by the Alabama legislature on January 9, 1836,[3] from land ceded under duress to the Federal government by the Cherokee Nation prior to their forced removal to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

The county was named for Major General Baron Johann de Kalb, a hero of the American Revolution.[4]

The city of Fort Payne, now the county seat, developed around a fort of the same name, built in the 1830s to intern Cherokee of the region prior to their removal.

In the early 19th century, Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who independently created the Cherokee syllabary, a written system for his language, lived in this area. He had been born in a Cherokee town in Tennessee and migrated here in the early 1800s. His work enabled the Cherokee to publish the first Native American newspaper, The Phoenix, which they produced in Cherokee and English.

On the whole, DeKalb County is a dry county in terms of alcohol sales and consumption. In 2005, the city of Fort Payne passed a law to authorize the legal sale of alcohol.[5] Collinsville and Henagar later also allowed alcohol sales.

## 21st-century natural events

[edit]

The county's eastern edge, along the state line, was the epicenter of an earthquake on April 29, 2003, measuring 4.6 on the moment magnitude scale. Power was knocked out in the area, mirrors and pictures thrown to the floor, foundations cracked, and one chimney fell to the ground. The unusual earthquake for this region was felt over a significant portion of the southeastern states, including quite strongly in northeastern Alabama and neighboring northern Georgia, and nearby eastern Tennessee (especially near Chattanooga). It was also felt slightly in western upstate South Carolina, far west-southwestern North Carolina, south and southeastern Kentucky, and east-northeastern Mississippi.

DeKalb County had one of the highest death tolls in Alabama during a massive tornadic system in April 27, 2011, the 2011 Super Outbreak. A total of 31 deaths were reported in the county, 25 of them being a result of the 2011 Rainsville tornado, the last EF5 of the outbreak..

## Geography

[edit]

The "Old Union" or "Tallahatchie" covered bridge crosses the Little River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 779 square miles (2,020 km2), of which 777 square miles (2,010 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.[6]

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Jackson County – north
* Dade County, Georgia – northeast (EST)
* Walker County, Georgia – east (EST)
* Chattooga County, Georgia – east (EST)
* Cherokee County – southeast
* Etowah County – south
* Marshall County – west

### National protected area

[edit]

* Little River Canyon National Preserve (part)

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1840| 5,929| | —
1850| 8,245| | 39.1%
1860| 10,705| | 29.8%
1870| 7,126| | −33.4%
1880| 12,675| | 77.9%
1890| 21,106| | 66.5%
1900| 23,558| | 11.6%
1910| 28,261| | 20.0%
1920| 34,426| | 21.8%
1930| 40,104| | 16.5%
1940| 43,075| | 7.4%
1950| 45,048| | 4.6%
1960| 41,417| | −8.1%
1970| 41,981| | 1.4%
1980| 53,658| | 27.8%
1990| 54,651| | 1.9%
2000| 64,452| | 17.9%
2010| 71,109| | 10.3%
2020| 71,608| | 0.7%
2023 (est.)| 72,569| [7]| 1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790–1960[9] 1900–1990[10]
1990–2000[11] 2010–2020[1]

### 2020 census

[edit]

DeKalb 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[12] | Pop 2010[13] | Pop 2020[14] | % 2000  | % 2010  | % 2020

|
|
|
|
|
|

White alone (NH)  | 58,436  | 57,997  | 54,529  | 90.67%  | 81.56%  | 76.15%
Black or African American alone (NH)  | 1,064  | 1,029  | 1,019  | 1.65%  | 1.45%  | 1.42%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)  | 478  | 865  | 715  | 0.74%  | 1.22%  | 1.00%
Asian alone (NH)  | 105  | 166  | 237  | 0.16%  | 0.23%  | 0.33%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)  | 13  | 35  | 16  | 0.02%  | 0.05%  | 0.02%
Other race alone (NH)  | 11  | 41  | 86  | 0.02%  | 0.06%  | 0.12%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)  | 767  | 1,286  | 3,262  | 1.19%  | 1.81%  | 4.56%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)  | 3,578  | 9,690  | 11,744  | 5.55%  | 13.63%  | 16.40%
Total | 64,452 | 71,109 | 71,608 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 71,608 people, 24,880 households, and 16,366 families residing in the county.

### 2010 census

[edit]

As of the census[15] of 2010, there were 71,109 people, 26,842 households, and 19,361 families living in the county. The population density was 92 people per square mile (36 people/km2). There were 31,109 housing units at an average density of 39.9 units per square mile (15.4 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.5% White (non-Hispanic), 1.5% Black or African American, 1.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 9.9% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. 13.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

### 2000 census

[edit]

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 64,452 people, 25,113 households, and 18,432 families living in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile (32 people/km2). There were 28,051 housing units at an average density of 36 units per square mile (14 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 92.55% White (non-Hispanic), 1.68% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.10% from other races, and 1.62% from two or more races. 5.55% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

According to the census of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in DeKalb County were English 78.31%, Scotch-Irish 8.29%, Scottish 3.33%, Irish 3.31%, Welsh 1.22%, and African 1.68%.

## Transportation

[edit]

### Major highways

[edit]

* Interstate 59
* U.S. Route 11
* State Route 35
* State Route 40
* State Route 68
* State Route 75
* State Route 117
* State Route 176
* State Route 227

### Rail

[edit]

* Norfolk Southern Railway

## Government

[edit]

DeKalb County is strongly Republican. Eighty-four percent of its voters supported Donald Trump in 2020, and no Democrat has carried it since Southerner Jimmy Carter did so in 1976. Populist appeal in the county during the period of "Redemption" meant that even during the "Solid South" era DeKalb County sometimes supported victorious Republican presidential candidates, as it did during the three Republican landslides of the 1920s.

United States presidential election results for DeKalb County, Alabama[17] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 25,633  | 86.42% | 3,758  | 12.67%  | 269  | 0.91%
2020 | 24,767  | 84.37% | 4,281  | 14.58%  | 308  | 1.05%
2016 | 21,405  | 82.88% | 3,622  | 14.02%  | 799  | 3.09%
2012 | 18,331  | 76.54% | 5,239  | 21.87%  | 380  | 1.59%
2008 | 17,957  | 74.77% | 5,658  | 23.56%  | 400  | 1.67%
2004 | 16,904  | 69.94% | 7,092  | 29.34%  | 173  | 0.72%
2000 | 12,827  | 63.23% | 7,056  | 34.78%  | 402  | 1.98%
1996 | 9,823  | 54.14% | 6,544  | 36.07%  | 1,776  | 9.79%
1992 | 10,519  | 48.73% | 8,245  | 38.20%  | 2,821  | 13.07%
1988 | 11,478  | 60.60% | 7,333  | 38.72%  | 129  | 0.68%
1984 | 12,098  | 62.53% | 7,212  | 37.27%  | 39  | 0.20%
1980 | 9,673  | 51.75% | 8,820  | 47.19%  | 197  | 1.05%
1976 | 6,597  | 40.14%  | 9,759  | 59.37% | 81  | 0.49%
1972 | 9,434  | 71.27% | 3,759  | 28.40%  | 44  | 0.33%
1968 | 5,314  | 35.76%  | 1,274  | 8.57%  | 8,271  | 55.66%
1964 | 6,746  | 57.69% | 0  | 0.00%  | 4,948  | 42.31%
1960 | 5,585  | 48.82%  | 5,844  | 51.08% | 12  | 0.10%
1956 | 5,684  | 49.56%  | 5,768  | 50.30% | 16  | 0.14%
1952 | 3,997  | 43.37%  | 5,209  | 56.52% | 11  | 0.12%
1948 | 2,743  | 43.31%  | 0  | 0.00%  | 3,590  | 56.69%
1944 | 2,627  | 37.52%  | 4,366  | 62.35% | 9  | 0.13%
1940 | 2,810  | 34.02%  | 5,432  | 65.77% | 17  | 0.21%
1936 | 4,620  | 42.92%  | 6,121  | 56.87% | 23  | 0.21%
1932 | 3,496  | 44.88%  | 4,217  | 54.13% | 77  | 0.99%
1928 | 5,761  | 59.27% | 3,957  | 40.71%  | 2  | 0.02%
1924 | 3,434  | 53.35% | 3,003  | 46.65%  | 0  | 0.00%
1920 | 4,852  | 55.17% | 3,894  | 44.28%  | 49  | 0.56%
1916 | 1,190  | 39.35%  | 1,787  | 59.09% | 47  | 1.55%
1912 | 492  | 19.49%  | 1,379  | 54.61% | 654  | 25.90%
1908 | 1,103  | 43.15%  | 1,395  | 54.58% | 58  | 2.27%
1904 | 1,237  | 40.31%  | 1,716  | 55.91% | 116  | 3.78%
1900 | 1,735  | 46.80%  | 1,873  | 50.53% | 99  | 2.67%
1896 | 1,446  | 46.56%  | 1,586  | 51.06% | 74  | 2.38%
1892 | 5  | 0.16%  | 1,868  | 61.01% | 1,189  | 38.83%
1888 | 593  | 30.63%  | 1,326  | 68.49% | 17  | 0.88%
1884 | 465  | 30.16%  | 1,077  | 69.84% | 0  | 0.00%
1880 | 252  | 24.93%  | 759  | 75.07% | 0  | 0.00%
1876 | 447  | 31.17%  | 987  | 68.83% | 0  | 0.00%
1872 | 585  | 50.39% | 576  | 49.61%  | 0  | 0.00%
1868 | 492  | 57.34% | 360  | 41.96%  | 6  | 0.70%
1860 | 0  | 0.00%  | 202  | 16.10%  | 1,053  | 83.90%
1856 | 0  | 0.00%  | 900  | 87.38% | 130  | 12.62%
1852 | 139  | 21.72%  | 501  | 78.28% | 0  | 0.00%
1848 | 257  | 28.34%  | 650  | 71.66% | 0  | 0.00%
1844 | 207  | 22.82%  | 700  | 77.18% | 0  | 0.00%
1840 | 157  | 16.92%  | 771  | 83.08% | 0  | 0.00%
1836 | 42  | 10.00%  | 378  | 90.00% | 0  | 0.00%

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Fort Payne (county seat)
* Henagar
* Rainsville

### Towns

[edit]

* Collinsville (partly in Cherokee County)
* Crossville
* Fyffe
* Geraldine
* Hammondville
* Ider
* Lakeview
* Mentone
* Pine Ridge
* Powell
* Sand Rock (mostly in Cherokee County)
* Shiloh
* Sylvania
* Valley Head

### Unincorporated communities

[edit]

* Adamsburg
* Alpine
* Aroney
* Beaty Crossroads
* Cartersville
* Chigger Hill
* Dawson
* Dog Town
* Grove Oak
* Guest
* Hopewell
* Lake Howard
* Loveless
* Sulphur Springs
* Ten Broeck
* Whiton

### Ghost towns

[edit]

* Battelle
* Bootsville
* Rawlingsville

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal

* National Register of Historic Places listings in DeKalb County, Alabama
* Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in DeKalb County, Alabama

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Alabama Counties". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 103.
5. ^ "Alcohol laws are changed," The Times-Journal, December 17, 2004 Archived July 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
7. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
8. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
9. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
10. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
11. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
12. ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – DeKalb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
13. ^ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – DeKalb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
14. ^ "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – DeKalb County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau.
15. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
16. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
17. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Retrieved November 16, 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Landmarks of DeKalb County
* DeKalb County History

Places adjacent to DeKalb County, Alabama

|  | Jackson County | Dade County, Georgia

|
|

|  |
Marshall County |

DeKalb County, Alabama

| Walker County, Georgia and Chattooga County, Georgia
|  |
| Etowah County | Cherokee County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of DeKalb County, Alabama, United States

County seat: Fort Payne

Cities|

* Fort Payne
* Henagar
* Rainsville

Map of Alabama highlighting DeKalb County

Towns|

* Collinsville‡
* Crossville
* Fyffe
* Geraldine
* Hammondville
* Ider
* Lakeview
* Mentone
* Pine Ridge
* Powell
* Sand Rock‡
* Shiloh
* Sylvania
* Valley Head

Unincorporated
communities|

* Alpine
* Adamsburg
* Aroney
* Beaty Crossroads
* Cartersville
* Chigger Hill
* Dawson
* Dogtown
* Grove Oak
* Guest
* Hopewell
* Lake Howard
* Loveless
* Sulphur Springs
* Ten Broeck
* Whiton

Ghost towns|

* Battelle
* Bootsville
* Rawlingsville

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* Alabama portal
* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Alabama

Montgomery (capital)

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Alabama portal

34°27′26″N 85°48′24″W﻿ / ﻿34.45722°N 85.80667°W﻿ / 34.45722; -85.80667

Authority control databases

International|

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* United States
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Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

Other|

* NARA
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