Odenville

Town of Odenville
Incorporated	1914
Population	3,687
Mayor	Rodney Christian
School district	St Clair County Schools
Government	Odenville Town Council Odenville Fire Department Odenville Police Department
Web site	stclaircountyal.com
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Odenville (incorporated in 1914) is a town 3,687 located on 3.2 square miles in Beaver Valley east of Trussville and northwest of Pell City in St Clair County. It is the home of St Clair County High School and Odenville Elementary School.

History

The settlement of the area began with the arrival of Methodist minister Christopher Vandergrift and his family from Chester County, South Carolina in 1821. Along the way they were joined by Peter Hardin, who had married Vandegrift's daughter Ellen. The Vandegrifts settled at Walnut Grove, about a mile east of present-day Odenville. After a year or two the Hardins built a new log home where Odenville now lies. He established a blacksmith shop and a cabinet works and the settlement became known as Hardin's Shop.

By the end of the 19th century Hardin's son J. L. and other local farmers were ginning cotton on the bank of Beaver Creek. The Seaboard Airline Railroad was constructed through Odenville between 1901 and 1905. The good-quality gins used there and low freight rates to northeastern markets made the Odenville area into a small regional cotton market. Other businesses sprang up in support such as the Odenville Mercantile Co. owned by LeRoy Steed, a drug store owned by Hyman Letaw, a general merchandise store run by the Hodges Brothers, the Bank of Odenville and the Hotel Cahaba. Missionary Baptist Church was organized in 1907.

In 1910 grading of the highway from Birmingham to Gadsden through Odenville was begun. In 1924 Alabama Highway 174 to Pell City was begun. Progress was slow and the project was only completed with help from the Works Progress Administration, which started in 1936.

Later businesses included Honeycutt’s Country Kitchen, the Bonnie and Clyde Vegetable Market.

In 2007 the town of Branchville voted to dissolve and allow itself to be annexed into Odenville.

Government

Odenville Town Hall, constructed in 1992, is located at 183 Alabama Street. The Odenville Civic Center is connected to it.

The mayor is Rodney Christian. The town council meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,131 people, 421 households, and 333 families residing in the city. The population density was 348.3/mi². There were 459 housing units at an average density of 141.3/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 96% White and 2% African American. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 421 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,473, and the median income for a family was $40,694. Males had a median income of $31,429 versus $21,736 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,330. About 5.0% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

70% were high school graduates, while only 7.2% held a bachelor's degree or higher.

References

• Whitten, Joe (1992) Odenville, Alabama: A History of Our Town 1921-1992"
• Whitten, Joe (September 18, 2003) "A Brief History of Odenville, Alabama". St. Clair County, Alabama Articles & Information
• "Odenville, Alabama" (January 21, 2009) Wikipedia - accessed March 3, 2009

External links

• Odenville at stclaircountyal.com