Newbern

Town of Newbern
Incorporated	1854
Population	133
Mayor	Patrick Braxton
School district	Hale County Schools
Government	Newbern Town Council Newbern Volunteer Fire Department Hale County Sheriff's Office
Web site	-
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Newbern is a town of 133 people on 1.2 square miles in southern Hale County, near the Perry County border. It was incorporated in 1854 and named for New Bern, North Carolina.

Newbern is included as part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Area. Auburn University's "Rural Studio" architecture program is based in Newbern.

Government

Newbern is governed by a Mayor and Town Council. Though state law requires those offices to be filled by election, in practice the town's public offices have been filled by informal agreement, and have always been white.

In 2020 Patrick Braxton officially filed as a candidate for mayor at the Hale County Courthouse. Since no other candidate qualified, he took office as the town's first Black mayor and appointed members to the council.

Shortly afterward, members of the former council convened an unpublicized meeting where they organized a "special election" with only themselves qualifying. Once they certified the results, they voted to remove Braxton from office because he had not attended their meetings, and to appoint Woody Stokes as mayor.

Braxton then filed a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to prevent him from discharging his duties as mayor. He further alleged that the Alabama League of Municipalities provided advice to the white council members on how to remove him. The litigation was settled in June 2024, with Braxton resuming his office and new elections to be held in 2025.

Demographics

The 2020 U.S. Census counted 133 residents in the town, of whom 64% were Black or African-American.

Newbern's Population, 1880-2010

year  pop.   %change

1880 | 454 |    -   |
1900 | 564 | +24.2% |
1910 | 515 |  -8.7% |
1920 | 438 | -15.0% | 
1930 | 389 | -11.2% |
1940 | 388 |  -0.3% |
1950 | 367 |  -5.4% |
1960 | 316 | -13.9% |
1970 | 286 |  -9.5% |
1980 | 307 |  +7.3% |
1990 | 222 | -27.7% |
2000 | 231 |  +4.1% |
2010 | 186 | -19.5% |
2020 | 133 | -28.5% |

Notable people

• Frank Allen, former Major League Baseball player
• Anthony Bryant, former NFL player
• Herb Jones, NBA player
• Henry Watson Jr, owned a cotton plantation in Newbern

References

• Hedgepeth, Lee (June 5, 2023) "He became the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama. A white minority locked him out of town hall." Tread
• Wright, Aallyah (July 19, 2023) "A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve." Capital B
• Johnson, Roy S. (August 18, 2023) " Racists threaten woman for aiding Newbern’s Black mayor." AL.com
• Wright, Aallyah (June 25, 2024) "After Years of Litigation, First Black Mayor in Rural Alabama Town Gets to Serve." Capital B

External links

• Rural Studio