Choccolocco, Alabama

Choccolocco, Alabama
Census-designated place & Unincorporated community
Location of Choccolocco in Calhoun County, Alabama.
Location of Choccolocco in Calhoun County, Alabama.
Choccolocco is located in Alabama
Choccolocco
Choccolocco
Choccolocco is located in the United States
Choccolocco
Choccolocco
Coordinates: 33°39′33″N 85°42′13″W / 33.65917°N 85.70361°W / 33.65917; -85.70361
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountyCalhoun
Area
[1]
 • Total
11.78 sq mi (30.52 km2)
 • Land11.65 sq mi (30.16 km2)
 • Water0.14 sq mi (0.35 km2)
Elevation
679 ft (207 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
2,838
 • Density243.69/sq mi (94.09/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
36207[2]
Area code(s)256 & 938
GNIS feature ID159400[3]

Choccolocco is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,804.[4] It was founded in 1832.

The name Choccolocco is an anglicization of the Creek words "chahko lago" ("big shoals") or "choko rakko" ("big house"); sources vary.[5][6]

The community gained brief notoriety in 2001 when The Daily Show aired a piece on the "Choccolocco Monster",[7] a part of local folklore concerning sightings of a mysterious creature in the area in the late 1960s. An October 2001 article in the Anniston Star newspaper revealed that the creature was, in fact, local resident Neal Williamson. As a teenager, Williamson would don his costume (consisting of a cow skull and a sheet) and gain the attention of passing cars by jumping out of the woods onto the roadside, often startling motorists.[8]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Choccolocco AL ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "Choccolocco". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  4. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Choccolocco CDP, Alabama". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  5. ^ "Choccolocco State Forest". Alabama Forestry Commission. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  6. ^ "Choccolocco Alabama". Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  7. ^ Ghosts Near Mississippi | The Daily Show | Comedy Central
  8. ^ The Anniston Star - The Choccolocco Monster: Jokester reveals 32-year-old prank Archived November 4, 2005, at the Wayback Machine