Colony

Colony is located in southeast Cullman County in the north-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

Colony is Cullman County’s only majority African American community. It was settled originally during Reconstruction by former enslaved individuals who received land as compensation for their enslavement by filing a claim in Huntsville, Madison County. More than 8,000 acres came under cultivation in the area.

Primarily a farming community in its early years, Colony also had a cotton gin, a sawmill, and a grist mill, as well as a general store and a Masonic Lodge. The community built a school in 1927, which originally covered grades 1-7. By 1941, it had expanded to include grades 8-12. Colony was incorporated in 1981.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Colony recorded a population of 295. Of that number, 86.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American, 10.5 percent as white, 2.7 percent as two or more races, and 0.7 percent as Asian. The town’s median household income was $41,250, and the per capita income was $23,229.

Employment

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

  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (26.4 percent)
  • Manufacturing (23.6 percent)
  • Retail trade (15.5 percent)
  • Construction (12.7 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (10.3 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (5.5 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (5.5 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (3.6 percent)
  • Public administration (3.6 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (1.8 percent)
  • Information (1.8 percent)

Education

Students in Colony attend Cullman County schools; no public schools are located within the town limits.

Transportation

State Highway 91 runs southwest-northeast through Colony and connects the town with north-south Interstate Highway 65 about a mile east of the town.

Events and Places of Interest

Colony maintains one municipal park that includes a walking trail and a baseball field. It also has a community center with an indoor basketball court.

Additional Resources

Cullman County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Cullman County, Alabama. Vols. I and II. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1999.

Jones, Margaret Jean. Combing Cullman County. Cullman, Ala.: Modernistic Printers, Inc., 1972.

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