Editing Eutaw, Alabama

{{Short description|City in and county seat of Greene County, Alabama}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Eutaw
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|official_name            = City of Eutaw
|image_skyline            = EutawAlabamaDowntown.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Downtown Eutaw, Alabama, in 2009
|image_seal               = Seal of Eutaw, Alabama.png
|image_map                = File:Greene County Alabama Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Eutaw Highlighted 0124664.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Eutaw in Greene County, Alabama.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Alabama|County]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_name1        = [[Alabama]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Greene County, Alabama|Greene]]
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = Latasha Johnson
|leader_title1 = City Council
|leader_name1 = {{Collapsible list
|title = Members
|frame_style = border:none; padding: 0;
|title_style = <!-- (optional) -->
|list_style = text-align:left;display:none;
|1 = Hattie Edwards
|2 = Sheila Smith
|3 = David Spencer
|4 = Ralph Liverman
|5 = Joe Powell}}
|established_date         = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 12.01
|area_land_sq_mi          = 11.93
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.08
|elevation_ft             = 217
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 2937
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 246.12
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|32|50|26|N|87|53|20|W|region:US-AL|display=inline,title}}
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 35462
|area_code                = [[Area codes 205 and 659|205 & 659]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 01-24664
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0118059
|footnotes                = 
|website                  = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_01.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2 = 31.10
|area_land_km2 = 30.91
|area_water_km2 = 0.20
|population_density_km2 = 95.03
}}
'''Eutaw''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|uː|t|ɔː}} {{respell|YOO|taw}}) is a city in and the [[county seat]] of [[Greene County, Alabama]], United States. At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 2,937. The city was named in honor of the [[Battle of Eutaw Springs]], the last engagement of the [[American Revolutionary War]] in the [[Carolinas]].

== History ==
[[File:Confederate statue - Eutaw, Alabama.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Confederate statue in Eutaw's Mesopotamia Cemetery]]
Eutaw was laid out in December 1838 at the time that Greene County voters chose to relocate the county seat from [[Erie, Alabama|Erie]], which was located on the [[Black Warrior River]]. It was incorporated by an act of the state legislature on January 2, 1841.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=32-09&MarkerTitle=Welcome%20To%20Eutaw%2C%20Alabama%3A%20A%20City%20of%20Progress |title=Welcome To Eutaw, Alabama: A City of Progress Marker - Historic Markers Across Alabama |website=www.lat34north.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202231406/http://www.lat34north.com/historicmarkersal/MarkerDetail.cfm?KeyID=32-09&MarkerTitle=Welcome%20To%20Eutaw%2C%20Alabama%3A%20A%20City%20of%20Progress |archive-date=February 2, 2016}}</ref>

As the county seat, Eutaw also developed as the trading center for the county, which developed an economy based on cultivation and processing of cotton, the chief commodity crop in the antebellum years. The crop was lucrative for major planters, who depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans and built fine homes in the city. Many have been preserved. Eutaw has twenty-seven [[Antebellum architecture|antebellum]] structures on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Twenty-three of these are included in the [[Antebellum Homes in Eutaw Thematic Resource|Antebellum Homes in Eutaw]] [[Multiple Property Submission|multiple property submission]]. The [[Coleman-Banks House]], [[Old Greene County Courthouse]], [[First Presbyterian Church (Eutaw, Alabama)|First Presbyterian Church]], and [[Kirkwood (Eutaw, Alabama)|Kirkwood]] are listed individually. Additionally, the [[Greene County Courthouse Square District]] is a listed [[Historic district (United States)|historic district]] in the heart of downtown. A nearby property, [[Everhope Plantation]], is also listed in the register.<ref name="NRIS">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>

During the [[Reconstruction Era]], Eutaw was the site of a number of [[Ku Klux Klan|Klan]] murders and acts by insurgents. The county courthouse was burned in 1868; the prevailing theory for the burning of the courthouse is that it was intended to destroy the records of some 1,800 suits by [[freedmen]] against planters, which were about to be prosecuted.<ref name="rogers">{{Cite journal|last=Rogers|first=William Warren|date=January 2, 2013|title=The Boyd Incident: Black Belt Violence During Reconstruction|journal=Civil War History|volume=21|issue=4|pages=309–329|doi=10.1353/cwh.1975.0009|s2cid=144484750 |issn=1533-6271}}</ref> On March 31, 1870, the Republican county solicitor, [[Alexander Boyd (county solicitor)|Alexander Boyd]], was shot and killed at his hotel when resisting being taken by a masked group of armed Klan members.<ref name="rogers"/> (An early-20th century historian of the Klan claimed the group was from Mississippi.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Susan Lawrence|title=Authentic History, Ku Klux Klan, 1865-1877|date=1924|pages=37|publisher=American library service|url=https://archive.org/stream/authentichistor00davi/authentichistor00davi_djvu.txt}}</ref>) That same night, James Martin, a black Republican leader, was killed near his home in [[Union, Alabama]], also in Greene County.<ref name="newton">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqgtyeQQLn8C&q=%22alexander+boyd%22+eutaw&pg=PA187|title=The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes|last=Newton|first=Michael|date=January 1, 2004|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816069880}}</ref>

In the fall of 1870, in the run-up to the [[1870 Alabama gubernatorial election|gubernatorial election]], two more black Republican politicians were killed in Greene County. On October 25, 1870, whites attacked a Republican rally in the courthouse square that had attracted 2,000 black Republicans. The [[Eutaw massacre]] resulted in four black deaths and some 54 wounded outside the county courthouse. Most blacks did not vote in the fall's election, which helped the Democratic candidate for governor.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hennessey|first=Melinda M.|title=Political Terrorism in the Black Belt: The Eutaw Riot|journal=Alabama Review|volume=33|year=1980|pages=35–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Waldrep|first=Christopher|title=Jury Discrimination: The Supreme Court, Public Opinion, and a Grassroots Fight for Racial Equality in Mississippi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hs8tBNQMIF8C&pg=PA143|year=2011|publisher=U of Georgia P|isbn=9780820341941|page=137}}</ref>

The use of violence and intimidation of blacks continued across Alabama in the [[Post-Reconstruction]] era. [[Lynching]]s took place in the state, but none were documented in Greene County during this period, according to a 2015 report by the [[Equal Justice Initiative]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf |title=''Supplement: Lynchings by County'' (3rd edition), ''Lynching in America'' (2015, 3rd edition), p. Montgomery, Alabama: Equal Justice Initiative |access-date=April 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063004/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf |archive-date=October 23, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This may be attributable to local officials enforcing the rule of law. On May 16, 1892, Sheriff Cullen and Deputy Sheriff E. C. Meredith of Greene County, with aid of a posse, distinguished themselves by going into [[Pickens County, Alabama|Pickens County]] after a lynch mob of about 50 men. The mob had taken African-American suspect Jim Jones from the Greene County jail, saying they were going to hang him in Carrollton for an alleged crime there. Cullen and his posse confronted the mob at gunpoint, and took Jones back to Greene County.

===20th century to present===
Agriculture continues to dominate the county's economy. Now conducted on an industrial scale, it has reduced the need for farm workers. Unemployment is high in the rural county.

[[James Bevel]], the main strategist and architect of the [[Civil Rights Movement]], was buried in [[Ancestors Village Cemetery]] in Eutaw on December 29, 2008. In addition to his early work in the [[Nashville Student Movement]] and Mississippi movement, Bevel initiated, planned, and directed the strategies for the 1963 [[Birmingham Children's Crusade]], the 1965 [[Selma to Montgomery march]], and the 1966 [[Chicago Open Housing Movement]].

Eutaw is home to the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Convent of Our Lady of Consolata, the Consolata Sisters, a small monastery for nuns in West Alabama.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://consolatasisters.org/consolata-guild/|title=Consolata Guild}}</ref> They are known throughout Greene County for their humanitarian efforts.

==Geography==
Eutaw is located east of the center of Greene County.  U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 11|11]] and [[U.S. Route 43|43]] pass through the center of town. The highways enter together from the northeast as Tuscaloosa Street; US 11 exits the city to the west as Boligee Street, while US 43 leaves to the south as Demopolis Highway. [[Alabama State Route 14]] passes through the city as Greensboro Street to the southeast and Mesopotamia Street to the northwest. Interstates [[Interstate 20|20]] and [[Interstate 59|59]] run through the northwest corner of the city, with access from Exit 40 (Highway 14), {{convert|3|mi|0}} northwest of the center of town. [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama|Tuscaloosa]] is {{convert|34|mi}} to the northeast via Interstate 20/59, and [[Meridian, Mississippi]], is {{convert|60|mi}} to the southwest. [[Demopolis, Alabama|Demopolis]] is {{convert|24|mi}} south via US 43, [[Greensboro, Alabama|Greensboro]] is {{convert|21|mi}} to the southeast via Highway 14, and [[Aliceville, Alabama|Aliceville]] is {{convert|27|mi}} to the northwest via Highway 14.

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], Eutaw has a total area of {{convert|31.1|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|30.9|km2|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.2|sqkm|order=flip|1}}, or 0.63%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0124664| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Eutaw town, Alabama| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=October 28, 2016}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The center of town is {{convert|3|mi|0}} west of the [[Black Warrior River]], accessible to boats at Finches Ferry Public Use Area.

===Climate===
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Eutaw has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=376810&cityname=Eutaw,+Alabama,+United+States+of+America&units=|title=Eutaw, Alabama Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Eutaw, 1991–2020 simulated normals (187 ft elevation)
|collapsed = 
|single line = y
|precipitation colour  =green
|Jan precipitation mm  =141.03
|Feb precipitation mm  =140.75
|Mar precipitation mm  =139.74
|Apr precipitation mm  =130.26
|May precipitation mm  =101.30
|Jun precipitation mm  =112.27
|Jul precipitation mm  =129.90
|Aug precipitation mm  =118.20
|Sep precipitation mm  =95.23
|Oct precipitation mm  =84.45
|Nov precipitation mm  =111.31
|Dec precipitation mm  =133.76
|Jan high C = 13.3
|Feb high C = 15.7
|Mar high C = 20.3
|Apr high C = 24.2
|May high C = 28.3
|Jun high C = 31.7
|Jul high C = 33.1
|Aug high C = 33.0
|Sep high C = 30.6
|Oct high C = 25.2
|Nov high C = 19.0
|Dec high C = 14.5
|Jan mean C  =7.3
|Feb mean C  =9.5
|Mar mean C  =13.5
|Apr mean C  =17.5
|May mean C  =22.1
|Jun mean C  =25.9
|Jul mean C  =27.5
|Aug mean C  =27.2
|Sep mean C  =24.4
|Oct mean C  =18.4
|Nov mean C  =12.2
|Dec mean C  =8.6
|Jan low C = 1.4
|Feb low C = 3.2
|Mar low C = 6.6
|Apr low C = 10.8
|May low C = 15.9
|Jun low C = 20.0
|Jul low C = 21.9
|Aug low C = 21.4
|Sep low C = 18.2
|Oct low C = 11.6
|Nov low C = 5.4
|Dec low C = 2.8
|Jan dew point C =2.4
|Feb dew point C =4.0
|Mar dew point C =6.9
|Apr dew point C =11.2
|May dew point C =16.1
|Jun dew point C =20.1
|Jul dew point C =21.8
|Aug dew point C =21.4
|Sep dew point C =18.6
|Oct dew point C =12.8
|Nov dew point C =7.1
|Dec dew point C =4.3
|source 1 = PRISM Climate Group<ref>{{cite web
  | url=https://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/
  | title=PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University
  | publisher=Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering (NACSE), based at Oregon State University
  | access-date=March 15, 2023}}</ref>
  | date=March 15, 2023}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 2000
|1880= 1101
|1890= 1115
|1900= 884
|1910= 1001
|1920= 1359
|1930= 1721
|1940= 1895
|1950= 2348
|1960= 2784
|1970= 2805
|1980= 2444
|1990= 2281
|2000= 1878
|2010= 2934
|2020= 2937
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 6, 2013}}</ref><br />2013 Estimate<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2013/SUB-EST2013-3.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013|access-date=June 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522161634/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2013/SUB-EST2013-3.html|archive-date=May 22, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Eutaw racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US0124664&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|447
|15.22%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|2,408
|81.99%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|2
|0.07%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|5
|0.17%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|48
|1.63%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|27
|0.92%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 2,937 people, 1,041 households, and 551 families residing in the town.

===2010 census===
At the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] there were 2,934 people in 1,203 households, including 760 families, in the city.  The population density was {{convert|408.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,355 housing units at an average density of {{convert|294.6|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the city was 80.2% Black or African American, 18.1% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 0.6% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref name="2010 census">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=July 24, 2015 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
Of the 1,203 households 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 34.2% of households were one person and 15.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.10.

The age distribution was 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 19.8% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% 65 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.5 males.

The median household income was $29,196 and the median family income  was $39,722. Males had a median income of $43,125 versus $28,077 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,126. About 27.4% of families and 28.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 38.7% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

===2000 census===
At the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] there were 1,878 people in 778 households, including 504 families, in the city.  The population density was {{convert|411.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 899 housing units at an average density of {{convert|196.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2000 census|racial makeup]] of the city was 33.01% White, 66.03% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.21% Asian, and 0.48% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
Of the 778 households 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 33.5% of households were one person and 15.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.95.

The age distribution was 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.

The median household income was $23,056 and the median family income  was $32,946. Males had a median income of $30,284 versus $18,869 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,573. About 24.7% of families and 28.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 39.4% of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Benjamin F. Alexander]], state representative during the [[Reconstruction era]]
* [[Oliver H. Cross]], [[U.S. Representative]] from [[Texas]]
* [[Edward deGraffenried]], U.S. Representative from [[Alabama's 6th congressional district]]
* [[Cob Jarvis]], basketball player and head basketball coach for the [[University of Mississippi]]
* [[Bill Lee (American football)|Bill Lee]], professional football player
* [[Matthew Leonard]], [[Sergeant First Class]] who posthumously received the [[Medal of Honor]] and [[Purple Heart]] for his actions in the [[Vietnam War]]
* [[James McQueen (businessman)|James McQueen]], president of Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Company
* [[Willie Powell]], baseball pitcher in the [[Negro league baseball|Negro leagues]]
* [[Bo Scarbrough]], professional football player
* [[Margaret Charles Smith]], midwife and member of the AL Women's Hall of Fame <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.awhf.org/mcsmith.html | publisher=[[AL Women's Hall of Fame]]| title=Alabama Women's Hall of Fame - Margaret Charles Smith}} <ref>

==In popular culture==
Eutaw is the home town of the protagonist in the 2004 [[Old Crow Medicine Show]] song "Big Time in the Jungle" . The band also released a 2001 album entitled ''Eutaw''. In addition, the town's name is referenced in the song "Don't Ride That Horse," among the other cities of Winnipeg, Joliet, Saskatoon, and Wawa.

The 1981 horror film ''[[Jaws of Satan]]'' takes place in Eutaw.

==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Alabama]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*Davis, Stephen Duane II, and Alfred L. Brophy, [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1398522 "The Most Esteemed Act of My Life: Family, Property, Will, and Trust in the Antebellum South"], an empirical study of probate in Greene County, Alabama

{{Greene County, Alabama}}
{{Alabama county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alabama]]
[[Category:Cities in Greene County, Alabama]]
[[Category:County seats in Alabama]]
[[Category:Tuscaloosa, Alabama metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1838]]