Nauvoo is a town on the northwestern edge of Walker County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States, that extends slightly north into southwestern Winston. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 221, down from 284 in 2000. Camp McDowell, the official camp and conference center of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, is located here.

History

The town of Nauvoo was founded in 1888, during the construction of the Northern Alabama Railway, and was formerly a center of coal mining. The town grew out of isolated agricultural settlements on the Walker County-Winston County line, which had been known unofficially as Blackwell's Crossing and Ingle Mills (or Ingle's Mill) after prominent local landowners. Railroad construction drove the development of the town center on Joshua Blackwell's property, but he declined to have the new town be named officially in his honor. The local resident Tom Carroll suggested the name "Nauvoo," after

Nauvoo, Illinois Nauvoo ( ; from the ) is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa. The population of Nauvoo was 950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Nauvoo attracts visitors for its h ...

— a city founded by

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

prophet

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

in 1839 and later the site of an

Icarian Icarian can refer to: *The Icarians, a utopian movement *'' Icarian: Kindred Spirits'', a video game *Icarians, fictional beings in the first game of ''Grandia'' series *People and things from Icaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a G ...

colony settlement — reportedly "because he had admired the llinoistown... in his earlier travels through that state." By 1891, the town was mentioned in the ''Winston Herald'' as "Nauvoo, a flourishing town with three stores and one steam gin doing good business." Nauvoo incorporated in 1906. Image:Scan0043.jpg Image:Coalmine_Nauvoo_resized.jpg

Geography

Nauvoo is located at .

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 284 people, 116 households, and 83 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 150 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.24%

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

, 1.06% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 1.76% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 116 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were

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

living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $22,274, and the median income for a family was $29,167. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $16,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $11,066. About 20.7% of families and 24.4% 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 35.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 22.2% of those 65 or over.

Notable person

Ben Sankey Ben Sankey (born December 5, 1976) is a former gridiron football quarterback. He was signed as a street free agent by the Calgary Stampeders in 2000. He played college football at Wake Forest. Sankey also played for the Houston Texans, Hamil ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

from 1929 to 1931, was born in Nauvoo in 1907."Ben Sankey Stats," ''Baseball Almanac''
Accessed 18 October 2021, 10:39 AM. *

Pat Buttram Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...

(1915-1994), Hollywood actor with

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

, lived part of his childhood and youth in Nauvoo

References

External links