New Hope

New Hope is located in Madison County in northeast Alabama. It has a mayor/council form of government.

History

Downtown New Hope New Hope was first referred to as “Cloud’s Town” after an early family that settled in the area. It was incorporated as Vienna in either 1832 or 1836, but according to some accounts that effort was rejected by the U.S. Post Office because another town in the southern part of the state already had claimed that name. A post office was established there around 1835. In late May 1864, the town was seized by federal troops and set afire by them that December, largely destroying everything except for a Masonic Lodge and the post office. It was gradually rebuilt and was incorporated in 1883 as New Hope, from the name of a local Methodist church.

The public school was built in 1906 and remained in use until 1958, when it was replaced by a new building. The old school was destroyed by fire in the 1980s and another school building was constructed in the early 2000s.

In 1974, an approximate F5-force tornado hit the New Hope area, killing 28 and injuring 272.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, New Hope recorded a population of 2,881. Of that number, 95.6 percent identified themselves as white, 1.5 percent as American Indian, 1.2 percent as African American, 0.9 percent as Hispanic and Latino, 0.4 percent as two or more races, 0.2 percent as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0.2 percent as Asian. The median household income was $71,250 and the per capita income was $26,400.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in New Hope was divided among the following industrial categories:

  • Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (26.5 percent)
  • Educational services, and health care and social assistance (20.6 percent)
  • Retail Trade (16.4 percent)
  • Manufacturing (8.7 percent)
  • Construction (7.6 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (5.5 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing (3.6 percent)
  • Public administration (3.3 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (2.6 percent)
  • Information (1.8 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (1.7 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (0.9 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (0.8 percent)

Education

First New Hope Public School Public education in New Hope is administered by Madison County Schools, which oversees one elementary school covering grades 1-8 and one high school covering grades 9-12.

Transportation

New Hope is accessed by U.S. Highway 431 which runs north-south and County Highway 77 that runs north-south. Guntersville Municipal AirportJoe Starnes Field is approximately 15 miles southeast of New Hope.

Events and Places of Interest

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places is Butlers’ Store. On the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage are the Dr. James L. Carpenter Home (ca. 1936) and the Poplar Ridge School (ca. 1858). New Hope City Park provides ball fields, tennis courts, and playground equipment.

Lake Guntersville is located within ten miles of New Hope and features boating, fishing, camping, and other forms of recreation.

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