Monroe County, Alabama

Monroe County
County
The Old Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°34′15″N 87°22′11″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	June 29, 1815
Named for	James Monroe
Seat	Monroeville
Largest city	Monroeville
Area
• Total	1,034 sq mi (2,680 km2)
• Land	1,026 sq mi (2,660 km2)
• Water	8.7 sq mi (23 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,772
• Estimate  (2023)	19,229
• Density	19/sq mi (7.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.monroecountyal.com
County Number 51 on Alabama Licence Plates

Monroe County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,772. Its county seat is Monroeville. Its name is in honor of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States. It is a dry county, in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or prohibited, but Frisco City and Monroeville are wet cities.

In 1997, the Alabama Legislature designated Monroeville and Monroe County as the "Literary Capital of Alabama". It is the birthplace of notable writer Harper Lee and served as the childhood home for Truman Capote, her lifelong friend and a fellow writer. Lee lived here most of her life. The enduring popularity of her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), as well as its film and stage adaptations, has attracted tourists to the city and area. Monroeville is also central to the 2019 film Just Mercy, based upon the 2014 eponymous book by Bryan Stevenson, recounting the wrongful conviction and sentencing to death of African American Walter McMillian.

History

For thousands of years the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples. In historic times, it was primarily the territory of the Muscogee or Creek peoples, who became known to European-American settlers as one of the Five Civilized Tribes of the Southeast.

The prominent Upper Creek chief Red Eagle (also known as William Weatherford), of the Wind Clan, settled here after the Creek War (1813-1814). At the time, the United States was also involved in the War of 1812 against Great Britain. Red Eagle established a successful cotton plantation. He was of Creek and European descent, and had adopted the system of chattel slavery to gain workers for his plantation and horse breeding. In the 1830s the United States forced the removal of most of the Creek people from Alabama to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), in order to take over their territory.

The area was settled by European Americans, primarily of English and Scots-Irish descent. It was largely developed as cotton plantations in the antebellum years. Planters moving from the Upper South sometimes brought slave workers with them, or purchased more slaves from traders and markets after acquiring land. The population was made up of numerous slaves, who in some sections outnumbered the whites.

Following the American Civil War and Emancipation, in the period after the Reconstruction era and into the early 20th century, white Democrats regained control of the state legislature and worked to restore and maintain white supremacy. The legislature passed a new constitution in 1901 that disenfranchised most blacks and tens of thousands of poor whites, excluding them from the political system. The legislators also passed laws imposing racial segregation and other forms of Jim Crow, and centralized power in the legislature.

Late 19th century to present

Physical violence by whites against blacks was part of the oppressive social system. Racial terrorism was perpetrated through lynchings of African Americans, mostly of men, which took place outside the justice system. They were often conducted as public displays on the courthouse square, spectacles attended by large white mobs in an enactment of their power. Monroe had a total of seventeen lynchings from 1877 to 1950, the second highest number of any county in Alabama.

Old Monroe County Courthouse in Harper Lee's hometown of Monroeville, the model for the courthouse used in the movie

The county seat, Monroeville, is the home of two notable 20th-century authors, Truman Capote and Nelle Harper Lee, who were childhood neighbors. The novelist Mark Childress and journalist Cynthia Tucker are also Monroe County natives. In 1997 the Alabama Legislature designated Monroeville and Monroe County as the "Literary Capital of Alabama".

The county is near the Gulf Coast and is affected by storms from the Gulf. It has twice been declared a disaster area by the federal government due to extensive hurricane damage: in September 1979 due to Hurricane Frederic, and in September 2004 due to Hurricane Ivan.

Attorney Bryan Stevenson published his memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption in 2014. He has worked since his early 20s in Montgomery, establishing the Equal Justice Initiative and serving as legal counsel for people on death row in Alabama prisons. He has succeeded in gaining freedom for more than 100 men who were wrongfully convicted. Among the cases he discusses is that of Walter McMillian of Monroeville, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1989. McMillian, an African American man, was sentenced to death by the trial judge, who overrode the lesser sentence reached by the jury. McMillian was kept on death row for 6 years, nearly 2 of which were prior to his trial, in an effort to make him confess. In 1993 the Alabama Appeals Court ruled that McMillian should be freed because of the lack of evidence, his alibi, the unreliability of witnesses, and mishandling of the trial.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,034 square miles (2,680 km²), of which 1,026 square miles (2,660 km²) is land and 8.7 square miles (23 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 84
• State Route 21
• State Route 41
• State Route 47
• State Route 59
• State Route 83
• State Route 136

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	8,838		—
1830	8,782		−0.6%
1840	10,680		21.6%
1850	12,013		12.5%
1860	15,667		30.4%
1870	14,214		−9.3%
1880	17,091		20.2%
1890	18,990		11.1%
1900	23,666		24.6%
1910	27,155		14.7%
1920	28,884		6.4%
1930	30,070		4.1%
1940	29,465		−2.0%
1950	25,732		−12.7%
1960	22,372		−13.1%
1970	20,883		−6.7%
1980	22,651		8.5%
1990	23,968		5.8%
2000	24,324		1.5%
2010	23,068		−5.2%
2020	19,772		−14.3%
2023 (est.)	19,229		−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

2020

Monroe County, Alabama – Racial and Ethnic Composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
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	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	13,962	12,621	10,334	57.40%	54.71%	52.27%
Black or African American alone (NH)	9,683	9,581	8,253	39.81%	41.53%	41.74%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	232	256	281	0.95%	1.11%	1.42%
Asian alone (NH)	69	67	88	0.28%	0.29%	0.45%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	4	0	0.00%	0.02%	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	13	8	44	0.05%	0.03%	0.22%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	174	311	565	0.72%	1.35%	2.86%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	190	220	207	0.78%	0.95%	1.05%
Total	24,324	23,068	19,772	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,772 people, 8,166 households, and 5,124 families residing in the county.

2010

According to the 2010 United States census:

• 55.1% White
• 41.7% Black
• 1.1% Native American
• 0.3% Asian
• 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 1.4% Two or more ethnicities
• 1.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any ethnicity)

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 24,324 people, 9,383 households and 6,774 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9.3 people/km²). There were 11,343 housing units at an average density of 11 units per square mile (4.2 units/km²). The ethnic 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 ethnicities while 0.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any ethnicity.

There were 9,383 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% married couples living together, 16.10% with a female householder and no husband present and 27.80% non-families. Slightly more than a quarter (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 old. For every 100 females, there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females, aged 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 aged 65 or over.

Government

Since 2018, the elected sheriff of Monroe County has been Democrat Tom Boatwright.

On November 2, 2020, Charles Andrews was sworn in as Monroeville's first elected African-American mayor.

United States presidential election results for Monroe County, Alabama

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	6,147	57.62%	4,455	41.76%	66	0.62%
2016	5,795	56.42%	4,332	42.18%	144	1.40%
2012	5,741	53.57%	4,914	45.85%	62	0.58%
2008	6,175	54.88%	5,025	44.66%	52	0.46%
2004	5,831	61.16%	3,666	38.45%	37	0.39%
2000	5,153	57.57%	3,741	41.79%	57	0.64%
1996	4,382	50.38%	3,815	43.86%	501	5.76%
1992	4,919	50.48%	3,872	39.73%	954	9.79%
1988	5,379	60.07%	3,509	39.19%	66	0.74%
1984	5,917	60.65%	3,725	38.18%	114	1.17%
1980	4,615	50.87%	4,262	46.98%	195	2.15%
1976	3,476	47.86%	3,669	50.52%	118	1.62%
1972	5,155	74.82%	1,636	23.74%	99	1.44%
1968	375	5.12%	1,673	22.84%	5,276	72.04%
1964	3,870	81.37%	0	0.00%	886	18.63%
1960	989	31.37%	2,130	67.55%	34	1.08%
1956	759	25.66%	2,069	69.95%	130	4.39%
1952	637	19.72%	2,587	80.07%	7	0.22%
1948	31	1.80%	0	0.00%	1,694	98.20%
1944	46	2.25%	1,991	97.55%	4	0.20%
1940	40	1.33%	2,953	98.17%	15	0.50%
1936	29	1.12%	2,558	98.54%	9	0.35%
1932	66	3.23%	1,972	96.52%	5	0.24%
1928	1,074	44.44%	1,343	55.56%	0	0.00%
1924	22	1.83%	1,155	96.09%	25	2.08%
1920	20	1.51%	1,295	97.52%	13	0.98%
1916	17	1.62%	1,029	98.09%	3	0.29%
1912	2	0.22%	878	97.12%	24	2.65%
1908	18	2.03%	856	96.61%	12	1.35%
1904	46	5.16%	836	93.72%	10	1.12%

Communities

City

• Monroeville (county seat)

Towns

• Beatrice
• Excel
• Frisco City
• Vredenburgh

Census-designated places

• Megargel
• Peterman
• Uriah

Unincorporated communities

• Buena Vista
• Burnt Corn
• Finchburg
• Franklin
• Goodway
• Hybart
• Manistee
• Mexia
• Natchez
• Old Salem
• Old Texas
• Perdue Hill
• River Ridge
• Scratch Ankle
• Tunnel Springs
• Vocation
• Wainwright

Ghost town

• Claiborne
• Nadawah

Places of interest

Monroe County is home to several attractions, such as the Alabama River Museum, the Monroe County Heritage Museum, and the Courthouse Museum which hosts the annual stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird. The county also contains Claude Kelly State Park.

See also

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

External links

• Monroeville / Monroe County Chamber of Commerce
• Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Alliance
• Monroe County Museum
• Monroe County map of roads/towns (map © 2007 Univ. of Alabama).
• South Alabama Community Website
• The Monroe Journal
• Monroe County Sheriffs Official Facebook Page