Demopolis, Alabama | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Demopolis. The confluence of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers is visible in the center of the picture. View is looking to the northwest. | |
 Logo | |
| Nickname(s): City of the People, Jewel of the Black Belt, The River City, The Canebrake, Demop | |
 Location in Marengo County, Alabama | |
| Coordinates: 32°31′03″N 87°50′11″W / 32.51750°N 87.83639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| County | Marengo |
| Incorporated | December 11, 1821[1] |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Woody Collins |
| Area | |
| • Total | 18.066 sq mi (46.791 km2) |
| • Land | 17.744 sq mi (45.956 km2) |
| • Water | 0.322 sq mi (0.835 km2) |
| Elevation | 121 ft (37 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 7,162 |
| • Estimate (2022)[5] | 6,882 |
| • Density | 388/sq mi (149.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC–6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC–5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code | 36732 |
| Area code | 334 |
| FIPS code | 01-20296 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0117222[3] |
| Website | demopolisal.gov |
Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the 2020 census.[4]
The city lies at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and Tombigbee River. It is situated atop a cliff composed of the Demopolis Chalk Formation, known locally as White Bluff, on the east bank of the Tombigbee.[6][7] It is at the center of Alabama's Canebrake region and is also within the Black Belt region.[8][9][10]
Demopolis was founded in the early 1800s after the fall of Napoleon's empire. It was named by a group of French expatriates, a mix of exiled Bonapartists and other French refugees who had settled in the United States after the overthrow of the colonial government in Saint-Domingue by enslaved workers. Napoleon had sent troops there in a last attempt to regain control of the island, but they were defeated, largely by high mortality due to yellow fever.
The name, meaning in Greek "the People's City" or "City of the People" (from Ancient Greek δῆμος + πόλις), was chosen to honor the democratic ideals behind the endeavor. First settled in 1817, it is one of the oldest continuous settlements in the interior of Alabama. French colonists had founded Mobile on the coast in the early 18th century.[11][12] Demopolis was incorporated on December 11, 1821.[13]
- ^ "Municipalities of Alabama Incorporation Dates" (PDF). Alabama League of Municipalities. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Demopolis, Alabama
- ^ a b "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
USCensusEst2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ "ADAH: Marengo Historical Markers". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
- ^ Hall, John C. (August 17, 2007). "Canebrakes". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ "Alabama's Canebrake". West Alabama Regional Alliance. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ Winemiller, Terance L. (September 17, 2009). "Black Belt Region in Alabama". The Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ Blaufarb, Rafe (2006). Bonapartists in the Borderlands: French Exiles and Refugees on the Gulf Coast, 1815–1835. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.
- ^ Smith, Winston (2003). The Peoples City: The Glory and the Grief of an Alabama Town 1850–1874. Demopolis, Alabama: The Marengo County Historical Society. pp. 32–56. OCLC 54453654.
- ^ Owen, Thomas McAdory; Owen, Marie Bankhead (1921). History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography. Vol. Volume 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 266.