Coffee County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

part of the U.S. state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,465. Its name is in honor of General John Coffee. Coffee County comprises the

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which was originally Enterprise–Ozark micropolitan area in 2010 censuses before being split off. It was originally included in the Dothan-Enterprise- Ozark,

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

in its 2012 statistics but the area in its recent years has been separated from the Dothan metropolitan area and Ozark micropolitan area in later censuses and is its own primary statistical area now. Despite the census change of the statistics by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the county still remains culturally connected alongside the two core based areas as it is commonly described as part of what is called the

Wiregrass Wiregrass is a common name for several plants Wiregrass may refer to: * Poaceae grasses ** ''Aristida'' (three-awns), especially ''Aristida stricta'' (Pineland Three-awn), '' Aristida junciformis'' and ''Aristida purpurea'' (Purple Three-awn), of ...

region together and also it shares its locations of

United States army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

base,

Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and ...

. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is mostly known as Elba, although Enterprise contains a second county courthouse as well.

History

The land in Coffee County was originally part of Dale County, which was incorporated in 1824. Coffee County was formed from the western part of Dale County on December 29, 1841. It was named after John R. Coffee, a soldier in the Creek War of 1813—14. The first county seat was in Wellborn. After the courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1851, the county seat was moved to Elba.

Geography

According to the

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. The county is located in the

Wiregrass region The Wiregrass region or Wiregrass country is an area of the Southern United States encompassing parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The region is named for the native ''Aristida stricta'', commonly known a ...

of southeast Alabama.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

U.S. Highway 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida. One of its most notable landmarks ...

* State Route 27 * State Route 51 * State Route 87 * State Route 88 * State Route 92 * State Route 134 * State Route 189 * State Route 192

Adjacent counties

* Pike County (north) * Dale County (east) * Geneva County (south) * Covington County (west) * Crenshaw County (northwest)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 53,465 people, 19,924 households, and 13,747 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 49,948 people, 19,849 households, and 13,837 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 74 people per square mile (29/km²). There were 22,330 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (12.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 74.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 16.7%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.2% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 6.4% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. The largest self-reported ancestry groups in Coffee County were English (59.9%), German (4.4%), Irish (3.3%), "American" (3.1%), (1.8%), Scottish (1.2%) and Portuguese (1.0%). There were 19,849 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,253, and the median income for a family was $54,929. Males had a median income of $41,635 versus $29,082 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $22,797. About 14.1% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Coffee County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election is

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, who won it by a majority in 1976.

Communities

Cities

* Elba (county seat) *

(partly in Dale County)

Towns

* Kinston * New Brockton

Unincorporated communities

* Alberton * Basin * Battens Crossroads *

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central cit ...

* Clintonville * Curtis *

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

* Danleys Crossroads * Frisco * Goodman * Ino * Jack *

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

* Keyton * Pine Level * Richburg * Roeton *

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

* Victoria

Education

School districts include:
Text list
- "Fort Rucker School District" refers to the DoDEA schools. *

Coffee County School District The Coffee County School District is a public school district in Coffee County, Georgia based in Douglas. It serves the communities of Ambrose, Broxton, Douglas, Nicholls, and West Green. The district is a Charter School System and was recog ...

Elba City School District Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

Enterprise City School District The Enterprise City School District is a public school district based in the city of Enterprise, Alabama (USA). It is also one of three municipal school systems that take Fort Rucker Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located primarily in Dale C ...

residents are within the

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behal ...

(DoDEA) system, for elementary school. Students on-post in Fort Rucker beyond the elementary level may attend non-DoDEA schools for secondary levels, with an on-post family choosing one of the following three options: Enterprise City,

Daleville City School System Daleville City School District is a school district in Dale County, Alabama. It serves people in Daleville. It is also one of three municipal school systems that take on-post Fort Novosel families at the secondary level.Windham Elementary Schoo ...

, or

Ozark City Schools Ozark City Schools are based in Ozark, Alabama. They consist of Lisenby Elementary School, Mixon Elementary School, D. A. Smith Middle School, and Carroll High School. It is also one of three municipal school systems that take on-post Fort Rucker ...

. - From a .mil site.

Notable people

* Jim Folsom,

governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1947 to 1951 and 1955 to 1959, was born in Coffee County. *Coffee County is home to "The Dancing Ghost" of

Grancer Harrison William "Grancer" Harrison (1789–1860), aka The Dancing Ghost of Grancer Harrison, is the subject of several ghost stories about his alleged spirit seen dancing at his grave-site near Kinston, Alabama. The story was featured in the book ''13 Alab ...

, featured in the book ''

13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey ''13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey'' is a book first published in 1969 by folklorist Kathryn Tucker Windham and Margaret Gillis . The book contains thirteen ghost stories from the U.S. state of Alabama. The book was the first in a series of seven '' ...

.'' *

Alex Ríos Alexis Israel Ríos (born February 18, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals. A World Serie ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player born in Coffee County * Zig Ziglar, Christian motivational speaker, was born in Coffee County in 1926.

In popular culture

The county is referred to in

Joe David Brown Joe David Brown (May 12, 1915 – April 22, 1976) was an American novelist and journalist from Birmingham, Alabama. He drew memorably from his own life to compose his fiction: his grandfather's role as a minister, his own knowledge of confidenc ...

's 1971 novel ''

Addie Pray ''Addie Pray'' is a 1971 novel by Joe David Brown. It was adapted for the 1973 film '' Paper Moon'', directed by Peter Bogdanovich. After the film's release, the novel was retitled ''Paper Moon''. The 1974 ABC situation comedy '' Paper Moon'' ...

,'' which inspired the movie '' Paper Moon.''

References

External links

Official Website of Coffee County Government
{{authority control Enterprise–Ozark micropolitan area 1841 establishments in Alabama Populated places established in 1841