Editing Leighton, Alabama

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Leighton, Alabama
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|image_skyline            = Leighton-City-Hall-al.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = Leighton City Hall
|image_seal               = 
|image_map                = File:Colbert County Alabama Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Leighton Highlighted 0142160.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Leighton in Colbert 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        = [[Colbert County, Alabama|Colbert]]
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|established_date         = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 5.59
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.16
|area_land_km2            = 5.59
|area_land_sq_mi          = 2.16
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|elevation_ft             = 584
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 665
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_km2   = 119.02
|population_density_sq_mi = 308.30
|timezone                 = [[Central Time Zone (North America)|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|coordinates              = {{coord|34|41|59|N|87|31|51|W|region:US-AL|display=inline,title}}
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 35646
|area_code                = [[Area code 256|256]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 01-42160
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2406001<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2406001}}</ref>
|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>
}}

'''Leighton''' is a town in [[Colbert County, Alabama|Colbert County]], [[Alabama]], United States. It is part of the [[Florence, Alabama|Florence]] - [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama|Muscle Shoals]] [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]] known as "[[The Shoals]]". At the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 665. Leighton has been hit by several [[tornado]]es in the 2000s, including a damaging EF2 on [[Tornado outbreak sequence of May 7–11, 2008|May 8, 2008]], that was caught on tape flipping over many cars and damaging buildings.

==History==
The first settlers in what is now Leighton arrived in the early 1810s. The community was initially known as "Crossroads" for its location at the intersection of two early stage coach roads.  The name was later changed to "Leighton" for town's first postmaster, the Reverend William Leigh. The town developed as a cotton shipping center in the 1830s after the [[Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad]] constructed a railroad line through the area.  Leighton incorporated in 1890.<ref name=kaetz>James P. Kaetz, "[http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3416 Leighton]," ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', March 7, 2013.</ref>

Leighton originally straddled the county line of [[Franklin County, Alabama|Franklin]] and [[Lawrence County, Alabama|Lawrence]] Counties. When Colbert County was carved off in 1867, the town still remained divided between the new county and Lawrence. On the 1880 U.S. Census, it reported having 196 residents on the Colbert County side and 83 on the Lawrence County side. After the 1890 Census, Colbert County's eastern border was expanded eastward several miles to Town Creek, placing Leighton wholly within Colbert.<ref>1820-2010 U.S. Censuses research on Colbert, Franklin and Lawrence County, Alabama and its communities</ref>

In 1909, an African-American man named Sam Davenport was lynched by a mob of some two dozen men in Leighton. Davenport was suspected of burning a white man's barn.<ref>{{Cite journal |title = Negro is Lynched for Barn Burning |date=January 25, 1909 |journal = The Atlanta Constitution }}</ref>

==Geography==
Leighton is located in eastern Colbert County at {{coord|34|41|59|N|87|31|51|W|type:city}} (34.699642, -87.530699).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>  The town is concentrated around the intersection of County Line Road (signed as Main Street within town limits) and County Road 22 ("Old Highway 20"), southeast of [[Muscle Shoals, Alabama|Muscle Shoals]].  [[U.S. Route 72]] passes just to the south, and the [[Tennessee River]] lies a few miles to the north.

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|2.6|km2|order=flip}}, all land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0142160| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212164223/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0142160| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Leighton town, Alabama| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=June 9, 2014}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 279
|1900= 506
|1910= 540
|1920= 598
|1930= 670
|1940= 810
|1950= 1080
|1960= 1158
|1970= 1231
|1980= 1218
|1990= 988
|2000= 849
|2010= 729
|2020= 665
|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|url-status=dead|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}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Leighton racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US0142160&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 13, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|325
|48.87%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|289
|43.46%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|1
|0.15%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|2
|0.3%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|35
|5.26%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|13
|1.95%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 665 people, 368 households, and 200 families residing in the town.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<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 2000, there were 849 people, 360 households, and 235 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert|857.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 414 housing units at an average density of {{convert|418.3|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the town was 44.41% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 55.12% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]] and 0.47% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]]. 0.94% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 360 households, out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $20,500, and the median income for a family was $28,036. Males had a median income of $27,625 versus $18,393 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $12,680. About 22.7% of families and 26.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 25.4% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Leighton is served by three schools in the [[Colbert County Schools|Colbert County School System]]:
*Hatton Elementary (K-6)
*Leighton Elementary (K-6)
*Colbert County High School (7-12)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colbert.k12.al.us/cchs/index.html |title=Colbert County High School |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110725124317/http://www.colbert.k12.al.us/ |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |access-date=March 31, 2017 }}</ref>

==Employment==
According to 2010 Census estimates, the work force in Leighton was divided among the following industrial categories:

* Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (20.3 percent)
* Retail trade (18.5 percent)
* Manufacturing (15.8 percent)
* Educational services, and health care and social assistance (15.3 percent)
* Construction (13.5 percent)
* Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (5.4 percent)
* Other services, except public administration (5.0 percent)
* Public administration (5.0 percent)
* Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (1.4 percent)

==Notable people==
*[[Lefty Bates]], [[Chicago blues]] guitarist<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chadbourne|first1=Eugene|title=Lefty Bates|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lefty-bates-mn0000090294/biography|website=Allmusic|access-date=July 31, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Leon Douglas]], former NBA player<ref>{{cite web|last1=Scarbinsky|first1=Kevin|title=The University of Alabama basketball program made a stand of its own for civil rights|url=http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/10/alabama_basketball_made_a_stan.html|website=al.com|publisher=Alabama Media Group|access-date=July 31, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Francine Hughes]], domestic abuse survivor and subject of the book and film ''[[The Burning Bed]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2017/03/30/francine-hughes-wilson-who-inspired-burning-bed-dies-69/99834400/ |title=Francine Hughes Wilson, who inspired 'The Burning Bed,' dies at 69 |last=Dozier |first=Vickki |date=March 30, 2017 |work=[[Lansing State Journal]] |access-date=March 31, 2017}}</ref>
*[[Jimmy Hughes (singer)|Jimmy Hughes]], former [[rhythm and blues]] singer<ref>{{cite web|title=Fame Records to reissue Jimmy Hughes collection|url=http://www.soultracks.com/story-jimmy_hughes|website=Soul Tracks|access-date=July 31, 2015}}</ref>*[[Ozzie Newsome]], NFF College Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end played for CCHS
*[[Thomas Minott Peters]], lawyer and botanist<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archives.alabama.gov/judicial/peters.html|title=Thomas M. Peters|publisher=Alabama Department of Archives and History|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref>
*[[Percy Sledge]], [[soul music|soul]] musician<ref name=sledge-obit-wp>{{cite news|last1=McArdle|first1=Terence|title=Percy Sledge, soul balladeer of 'When a Man Loves a Woman,' dies at 74|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/percy-sledge-soul-balladeer-of-when-a-man-loves-a-woman-dies-at-74/2015/04/14/8abbdde2-e2b7-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html|access-date=April 15, 2015|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=April 14, 2015}}</ref>

==Gallery==
Below are photographs taken in Leighton as part of the [[Historic American Buildings Survey]]:
<gallery widths=200px>
File:FRONT VIEW, FACES WEST - Drury Vinson House, County Road 63, Leighton, Colbert County, AL HABS ALA,17-LEIT.V,2-1.tif|Drury Vinson House
File:EAST END OF BRIDGE (GENERAL VIEW) - Presbyterian Church, Mount Pleasant Road, Leighton, Colbert County, AL HABS ALA,17-BRIC.V,1-1.tif|Presbyterian Church
File:NORTH FRONT, SHOWING ARCUATED ENTRANCE PORCH - Hugh C. Leckey House, State Highway 20 and County Road 48, Leighton, Colbert County, AL HABS ALA,17-LEIT,1-1.tif|Hugh C. Leckey House
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Leighton, Alabama}}

{{Colbert County, Alabama}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Colbert County, Alabama]]
[[Category:Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Towns in Alabama]]