Notasulga

Zora Neale Hurston Notasulga is located in north-central Macon County and southwestern Lee County in the east-central part of the state. Most of the town is located in Macon County. The name derives from the Muskogean word for Bear clan, Nokosvlke  (nokose=bear and vlke=people), the language of the local Creek Indians. It has a mayor/council form of government. Author Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was born in Notasulga.

History

Initially, the area that now encompasses Notasulga was named Moore’s Cross Roads, after early settler Amos Moore. Moore purchased land in the area in the early 1840s and began advertising lots for sale in “a town called Notasulga,” probably after a nearby creek by that name. Settlers soon began moving to the area, and by 1843, the town had its first post office, with Amos Moore as the first postmaster. The Montgomery-West Point Railroad connected Notasulga to the wider world when it came through in 1844.

During the Civil War, the Confederate army established Camp Watts as a training facility for conscripted soldiers as well as a supply depot and hospital in Notasulga. The site is located on private land, and Confederate and U.S. Army graves there and once marked by headstones since now been lost.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Notasulga recorded a population of 1,127. Of that number, 65.2 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American, 34.8 percent as white, and 0.6 percent as Hispanic. The town’s median household income was $37,147, and the per capita income was $22,496.

Employment

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

  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (32.2 percent)
  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (16.0 percent)
  • Retail trade (11.7 percent)
  • Manufacturing (9.1 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (8.8 percent)
  • Construction (7.5 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (6.9 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (1.9 percent)
  • Public administration (1.8 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (1.8 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (1.6 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (0.8 percent)

Education

Schools in Notasulga are part of the Macon County school system; the town one K-12 school.

Transportation

State Highway 14 runs west-northeast through the town. State Highway 81 runs south from the center of town and intersects Interstate Highway 85 approximately five miles from town.

The Auburn University Regional Airport is located approximately 10 miles northeast of Notasulga.

Events and Places of Interest

Shiloh-Rosenwald School in Notasulga Tuskegee National Forest is located about three miles southeast of town.

Armstrong Church, Camp Watts, and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Rosenwald School, and Cemetery are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and Rosenwald School are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Further Reading

  • Macon County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Macon County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2003.

External Links

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