Hollywood

Hollywood is located in central Jackson County in the northeast corner of the state. It has a mayor/council form of government.

The present-day city of Hollywood began in 1858 as a station on the Southern Railroad. At the time, it was known as Sample, after a railroad engineer who worked on the line. The railroad took this route because the citizens of Bellefonte refused to let the line come through their town. The town later changed its name to Hollywood.

In the winter of 1863-64, Hollywood was occupied by the One Hundredth Indiana Regiment of the Fifteenth Army Corps, under the command of Union general William Tecumseh Sherman. The town suffered in the aftermath of the Civil War but gradually recovered. In 1898, the Alabama Brick and Tile Company opened, and it remained a major part of the town's economy for a number of years. A smallpox epidemic hit the town in 1904.

In 1974, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began construction of the Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station on the Tennessee River on the eastern side of Hollywood. The plant's construction was halted in 1988 and it has gone through various attempts to complete it. The site is currently in litigation regarding ownership.

According to 2016 Census estimates, Hollywood recorded a population of 1,114. Of that number, 72.4 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 21.1 percent as African American, 4.8 percent as two or more races, 2.7 percent as Hispanic, and 1.2 percent as Native American. The town's median household income was $32,500 and the per capita income was $18,533.

According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Hollywood was divided among the following industrial categories:

Schools in Hollywood are part of the Jackson County School system; the town has one elementary school and an alternative school and a technology center.

Hollywood is served by County Road 33, which runs northwest-southeast through the town and connects with U.S. Highway 72 to the southeast.

Events and Places of Interest

The Townsend Farmhouse located just north of Hollywood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hollywood is located just west of the Tennessee River and Lake Guntersville, which offer numerous opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, and camping.

Additional Resources

Jackson County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Jackson County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1998.

Kennamer, John Robert Sr. History of Jackson County, Alabama. 1935. Reprint, Scottsboro, Ala.: Jackson County Historical Association, 1993.

Thomas, Coburn. "An Economic and Social History of Jackson County." Master's Thesis, Auburn University, 1938.