Sylacauga, Alabama

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Sylacauga, Alabama
settlement_type = City


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Talladega County and the state of Alabama


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = Alabama
subdivision_name2 = Talladega
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
established_date =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 48.3
area_total_sq_mi = 18.6
area_land_km2 = 48
area_land_sq_mi = 18.5
area_water_km2 = 0.3
area_water_sq_mi = 0.1
elevation_ft = 545
elevation_m = 166
population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 12616
population_metro =
population_density_km2 = 261.2
population_density_sq_mi = 678.3
timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
latd = 33 |latm = 10 |lats = 42 |latNS = N
longd = 86 |longm = 15 |longs = 4 |longEW = W
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 35150-35151
area_code = 256
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 01-74352
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0160702
footnotes =
website =

Sylacauga is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 12,616.

Sylacauga is the site of the only documented case of an object from outer space hitting a person. On November 30, 1954, a 4 kg piece of the Hodges Meteorite crashed through the roof of an Oak Park house, bounced off a radio, and badly bruised a woman taking an afternoon nap.

History

The first settlers in the Coosa River Valley were the Creek Indians. Sylacauga was first mentioned in Hernando DeSoto's records in 1540. The name Sylacauga is made up of two Indian words - "Chalaka-ge" meaning "The place of the Chalaka Tribe". The city was first incorporated as Syllacoga in 1838 and again in 1887 as Sylacauga. Sylacauga, "The Marble City", is constructed on a solid deposit of the hardest, whitest marble in the world. The bed is approximately 32 miles long by one and one half miles wide and 400 feet deep. [http://www.sylacauga.net/sn_history.htm]

Industry

Sylacauga is home to one of three Blue Bell Creameries manufacturing facilities, which produces Blue Bell brand ice cream. In addition, Sylacauga is home to Imerys and Teksid Aluminum Components of Fiat

Geography

Sylacauga is located at coor dms|33|10|42|N|86|15|4|W|city (33.178360, -86.251068)GR|1.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.6 square miles (48.3 km²), of which, 18.5 square miles (48.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.59%) is water. Sylacauga is also home to Gravity hill.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1890=464
1900=880
1910=1456
1920=2141
1930=4115
1940=6269
1950=9606
1960=12857
1970=12255
1980=12708
1990=12520
2000=12616
estyear=2007
estimate=12871

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 12,616 people, 5,215 households, and 3,421 families residing in the city. The population density was 681.0 people per square mile (262.9/km²). There were 5,748 housing units at an average density of 310.3/sq mi (119.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.17% White, 28.91% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,215 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,533, and the median income for a family was $40,275. Males had a median income of $32,092 versus $21,990 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,209. About 16.6% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people from Sylacauga

* Jonathan Bearden, actor.
* Jim Nabors, actor and singer, star of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. television series.
* Van Allen Plexico, writer.
* Gerald Wallace, NBA basketball player, Charlotte Bobcats.
* Ehren Wassermann, MLB baseball player, Chicago Whitesox.

References

External links

* [http://www.sylacauga.net/ Official Site]
* [http://alabamabelle27.tripod.com/sylacauga24.html Tribute to Sylacauga]