Talladega, Alabama

Talladega, Alabama
City
Location in Talladega County and the state of Alabama
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Talladega
Area
• Total	24 sq mi (62 km2)
• Land	23.9 sq mi (61.8 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	558 ft (170 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	15,143
• Density	631/sq mi (244.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	35160-35161
Area code	256
FIPS code	01-74592
GNIS feature ID	0160707

Talladega (locally, Template:PronEng) is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 15,143. The city is the county seat of Talladega CountyTemplate:GR. Talladega is approximately 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama.

The city is home to the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, Talladega Superspeedway and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. The Talladega Municipal Airport, a public general aviation airport, is also located with the city limits.

Geography

Talladega is located at 33°26′5″N 86°6′5″W (33.434728, -86.101299)Template:GR.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.9 square miles (62.0 km²), of which, 23.9 square miles (61.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.29%) is water.

Demographics

Group of doffers working in Cotton Factory posed by the superintendant of the factory. November 1910. Photographed by Lewis Hine.

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,836 households, and 3,962 families residing in the city. The population density was 634.4 people per square mile (244.9/km²). There were 6,457 housing units at an average density of 270.5/sq mi (104.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.15% White, 42.28% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,836 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,617, and the median income for a family was $36,296. Males had a median income of $27,951 versus $21,326 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,733. About 14.1% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

Famous people from Talladega

• Tinsley R. Harrison, founding editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine
• The Talledega Municipal Airport was renamed Boswell field in honor of Eastaboga resident Lewis Archer Boswell. Local legend states that Boswell actually made the first successful flight before the Wright Brothers.
• Lee De Forest was not a native of Talladega but he spent most of his young life there. De Forest, who invented the vacuum tube and held over 300 patents, was the son of a president of Talladega College.
• Jack Nelson was born in Talladega, Alabama, in October, 1929, to Alonzo and Barbara O'Donnel. The Pulitzer-winning Washington correspondent and former Washington bureau chief for The Los Angeles Times, Nelson was a reporter for forty-five years and has written a number of books. Beginning in September 2007, "The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press" will offer one-year fellowships for recent law school graduates. The fellowship honors Jack Nelson who is a former Chair of The Reporters Committee's Executive Committee, and served on its Steering Committee for 25 years. Jack Nelson currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Barbara Matusaw.

Colleges and universities

Talladega College, founded in 1865, is a historically black liberal arts college located in Talladega, Alabama. The Savery Library holds the Amistad murals, painted by Hale Woodruff in 1939.

External links

• Official Site