Avon

Avon is located in central Houston County in the extreme southeastern corner of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

The Avon area was first settled in the mid-nineteenth century. An early Baptist church was constructed around 1875. When Houston County was created in 1903, a member of the Fellows family, who had moved to the area from Georgia and purchased the remaining acreage in the town limits, became one of the first county commissioners.

During this early period, Avon remained essentially an agricultural community. Until the first paved highway came through, people in the community had an arduous journey to either Cowarts or Ashford to get supplies. In the late 1950s, citing unfair pricing practices by the utility then supplying the town with electricity, civic leaders petitioned Alabama Power to become its power provider. They were informed that the town had to incorporate before making such a request and did so in January 1957, taking the name Avon. A town hall was completed in May 1960, and electric streetlights were installed in the early 1960s.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Avon recorded a population of 543. Of that number, 98.2 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 1.5 percent as African American, 14.2 percent as Hispanic, and 0.4 percent as two or more races. The town’s median household income was $48,750, and the per capita income was $31,913.

Employment

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

  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (23.3 percent)
  • Retail trade (19.8 percent)
  • Manufacturing (10.8 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (10.3 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (9.5 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (7.8 percent)
  • Construction (6.5 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (3.4 percent)
  • Public administration (3.0 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (2.6 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (2.6 percent)
  • Information (0.4 percent)

Education

Students in Avon attend Houston County schools; no public schools are located within the town limits.

Transportation

U.S. Highway 84 passes through the northern border of Avon, running east-west.

Additional Resources

Watson, Fred S. Hub of the Wire Grass: A History of Houston County, Alabama, 1903-1972. Anniston, Ala.: Higginbotham, Inc., 1972.

External Links

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