Moundville

Moundville is located in north-central Hale County and south-central Tuscaloosa County, with the majority of the town lying in Hale County, in the west-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government. Moundville Archaeological Park is located within the town limits.

History

Cotton Gin near Moundville The area’s first settlement was established 1823 under the name Carthage. At the time, the town already had eight stores, a warehouse, a grist mill, a cotton gin, and several saloons. The town’s charter was revoked in 1826, the reasons for which are unclear. An especially hard winter in 1831 stressed the town’s economy and thus its population, derailing its growth. Carthage remained primarily a farming community.

In 1891, A. H. Griffin bought 600 acres nearby and laid out a new town, which was named Moundville after the large Indian mounds that lay within the town limits. The existing community of Carthage became a part of the new town. The downtown area of Moundville was devastated in 1904 by a tornado that killed 37 people. The citizens rebuilt, and by 1907 the state had established a normal school in the town. The first newspaper began publication in 1911.

In 1914, the Southern Pickle Company, a Birmingham-based business, located part of its operations in Moundville, which resulted in many of the local farmers switching to growing cucumbers for the company as a major cash crop.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Moundville recorded a population of 3,008. Of that number, 46.9 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 46.3 percent as African American, 5.9 percent as two or more races, 1.7 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and 0.9 percent as Asian. The town’s median household income was $53,397, and the per capita income was $22,032.

Employment

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

  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (21.3 percent)
  • Retail trade (18.2 percent)
  • Manufacturing (12.8 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (10.9 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (9.6 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (5.7 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (5.6 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (5.2 percent)
  • Construction (5.1 percent)
  • Public administration (3.3 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (1.9 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (0.5 percent)

Education

Schools in Moundville are part of the Hale County school system; the town has one elementary school and one high school.

Transportation

State Highway 69 bisects Moundville, running south-northeast. County Road 50 runs southeast from town, and County Road 21 runs southwest.

Events and Places of Interest

Jones Archaeological Museum Moundville Archaeological Park preserves a large number of Mississippian earthen mounds and includes an archaeological museum and hiking trails; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town also maintains baseball, softball, and football fields and has an active youth program for athletics.

Additional Resources

Hale County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Hale County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 2001.

External Links

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