Editing Arab, Alabama (section)

==History==
What is now Arab was established by Stephen Tuttle Thompson in the 1840s, and was originally known as "Thompson's Village".<ref>James P. Kaetz, "[http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3161 Arab] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902055436/https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/arab/ |date=September 2, 2024 }}," ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', 2013.</ref> The current name of the town was an unintentional misspelling by the [[United States Postal Service]] in 1882 of the city's intended name, taken from Arad Thompson, the son of the town founder, who had applied for a post office that year. "Arad" was one of three names sent to the [[United States Postal Service|Postal Service]] for consideration, the others being "Ink" and "Bird." Arab has frequently been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Quentin |title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An Insider's Guide to 201 of the World's Weirdest and Wildest Places |publisher=[[Adams Media]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1440504549}}</ref>

Arab was incorporated on December 10, 1892.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foscue |first=Virginia |title=Place Names in Alabama |publisher=[[University of Alabama Press]] |year=1988 |isbn=978-1859092965}}</ref>

Arab was a [[sundown town]], with a sign warning Blacks not to stay in Arab after dark<ref>{{Cite book |last=Loewen |first=James W. |author-link=James W. Loewen |title=Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism |publisher=[[The New Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=156584887X |location=New York |pages=347, 380}}</ref> and, historically, even barring them during the day.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Windham |first=Ben |title=Cullman's 'Sundown Town' Image Worthy of Study |url=https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/DA/20060305/News/606110354/TL/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102014713/https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/DA/20060305/News/606110354/TL/ |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |work=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]}}</ref> [[Ku Klux Klan]] material was disseminated in Arab in 2014 and 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kern |first=Kelsey |title=KKK Propaganda Found in Arab for the Second Time in Months |url=https://whnt.com/2015/12/08/kkk-propaganda-found-in-arab-for-the-second-time-in-months/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102014713/https://whnt.com/2015/12/08/kkk-propaganda-found-in-arab-for-the-second-time-in-months/ |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |access-date=November 2, 2019 |work=[[WHNT-TV]]}}</ref>