Dale County, Alabama#Micropolitan Statistical Area

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Dale County

| state = Alabama

| ex image = Daleville historical marker.JPG

| ex image size = 300px

| ex image cap = Daleville historical marker

| seal = Seal of Dale County, Alabama.png

| founded year = 1824

| founded date = December 22

| seat wl = Ozark

| largest city wl = Ozark

| area_total_sq_mi = 563

| area_land_sq_mi = 561

| area_water_sq_mi = 1.6

| area percentage = 0.3

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_total = 49326

| pop_est_as_of = 2023

| population_est = 49871 {{increase}}

| population_density_sq_mi = auto

| time zone = Central

| web = https://dalecountyal.com/

| district = 1st

| named for = Samuel Dale

| footnotes =

County Number 26 on Alabama Licence Plates

}}

Dale County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 49,326.{{cite web |title=State & County QuickFacts: Dale County, Alabama |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/dalecountyalabama/PST045222 |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=September 13, 2023}} Its county seat and largest city is Ozark.{{cite web |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |website=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }} Its name is in honor of General Samuel Dale.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Government Printing Office |last=Gannett |first=Henry |year=1905 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n97 98]}}

Dale County comprises the Ozark, AL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Dothan-Ozark, AL Combined Statistical Area. It was originally a part of Enterprise–Ozark micropolitan area before being split, and for a longer while was originally part of the Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark combined statistical area but Coffee County is now its own separate primary statistical area in later censuses.{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/econ/ec2012/csa/EC2012_330M200US222M.pdf |title=Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark, AL Combined Statistical Area |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 14, 2021}}{{cite web |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Bulletin-20-01.pdf |title=OMB Bulletin No. 20-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |date=March 6, 2020 |website=United States Office of Management and Budget |access-date=September 21, 2020}}

The vast majority of Fort Rucker (formerly Fort Novosel) is located in Dale County.

History

The area now known as Dale County was originally inhabited by members of the Creek Indian nation, who occupied all of southeastern Alabama during this period. Between the years of 1764 and 1783 this region fell under the jurisdiction of the colony of British West Florida.{{cite book |last=Fabel |first=Robin F. A. |date=2002 |title=The Economy of British West Florida, 1763-1783 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press}} The county, together with the surrounding area, was ceded to the United States in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson, ending the Creek Indian Wars. A blockhouse had been constructed during the conflict on the northwestern side of the Choctawhatchee River, and the first non-Indian residents of Dale County would be veterans who began to settle in the area around 1820.{{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1767/ |title=Prairie 1767 |website=Geocities |access-date=July 21, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528150204/http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/1767/ |archive-date=May 28, 2008}}

Dale County was established on December 22, 1824. It originally included the whole of what is now Coffee County and Geneva County, together with the "panhandle" portion of Houston County. The original county seat was located at Dale's Court House (now the town of Daleville), but when Coffee County split from Dale in 1841, the seat was moved to Newton. Here it remained until 1870 when, following a courthouse fire in 1869 and the formation of Geneva County (which took the southern third of Dale County), the county seat was moved to the town of Ozark, where it remains. In 1903 a small portion of the southeast part of Dale county was joined to the newly formed Houston County.

Portions of the 15th Regiment of Alabama Infantry, which served with great distinction throughout the U.S. Civil War, were recruited in Dale County, with all of Co. "E" and part of Co. "H" being composed of Dale County residents. This unit is most famous for being the regiment that confronted the 20th Maine on the Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Despite several ferocious assaults, the 15th was ultimately unable to dislodge the Union troops, and was ultimately forced to retreat after a desperate bayonet charge led by the 20th Maine's commander, Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain.{{cite book |last=Desjardin |first=Thomas A. |author-link=Thomas A. Desjardin |date=1995 |title=Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the Gettysburg Campaign |publisher=Thomas Publications |pages=69–71 |isbn=1-57747-034-6}}{{cite book |last=Pfanz |first=Harry W. |date=1987 |title=Gettysburg: The Second Day |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |page=232 |isbn=0-8078-1749-X}} This assault was vividly recreated in Ronald F. Maxwell's 1993 film Gettysburg. The 15th would continue to serve until the final capitulation of Lee's army at Appomattox Court House in 1865.

Another regiment recruited largely from Dale County was the 33rd Alabama; Companies B, G and I were recruited in the county, with Co. G coming from Daleville; Co. B from Newton, Skipperville, Clopton, Echo and Barnes Cross Roads; and o. I from Newton, Haw Ridge, Rocky Head, Westville and Ozark.{{cite web |url=http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/33rd_Regiment,_Alabama_Infantry |title=33rd Regiment, Alabama Infantry |website=FamilySearch}}{{cite web |url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/al/county/barbour/CSA/33rd_alabama_co.htm |title=33rd Alabama, Company B |website=U.S.Gen Net |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708051936/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/al/county/barbour/CSA/33rd_alabama_co.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2010}} This regiment fought with great distinction in the Army of Tennessee, mostly under famed General Patrick Cleburne, once winning the Thanks of the Confederate Congress for its action at Ringgold Gap. The regiment was largely annihilated during the battles of Perryville and Franklin, but a few men survived and returned to Dale County after the war.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|563|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|561|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.6|sqmi}} (0.3%) is water.{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_01.txt |date=August 22, 2012 |title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 22, 2015 }} The county is located in the Wiregrass region of southeast Alabama.

It is the fifth-smallest county in Alabama by land area and third-smallest by total area.

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Pike County (northwest)
Barbour County (north)
Henry County (east)
Houston County (southeast)
Geneva County (southwest)
Coffee County (west)

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1830= 2031

|1840= 7397

|1850= 6382

|1860= 12197

|1870= 11325

|1880= 12677

|1890= 17225

|1900= 21189

|1910= 21608

|1920= 22711

|1930= 23175

|1940= 22685

|1950= 20828

|1960= 31066

|1970= 52995

|1980= 47821

|1990= 49633

|2000= 49129

|2010= 50251

|2020= 49326

|estyear=2023

|estimate=49871

|estref={{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 27, 2024}}

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=U.S. Decennial Census |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 22, 2015}}
1790–1960{{cite web |url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ |title=Historical Census Browser |website=University of Virginia Library |access-date=August 22, 2015 |archive-date=August 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811110448/http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ |url-status=dead }} 1900–1990{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/al190090.txt |title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 |website=United States Census Bureau |editor-last=Forstall |editor-first=Richard L. |date=March 24, 1995 |access-date=August 22, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102134805/https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/al190090.txt |archive-date=January 2, 2016}}
1990–2000{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000 |website=United States Census Bureau |date=April 2, 2001 |access-date=August 22, 2015}} 2010–2020

}}

=2020 Census=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Dale County, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.}}

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Dale County, Alabama|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p004&g=050XX00US01045&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Dale County, Alabama|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US01045&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Dale County, Alabama|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US01045&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|35,771

|35,705

|style='background: #ffffe6; |32,602

|72.81%

|71.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |66.09%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|9,902

|9,546

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,100

|20.16%

|19.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20.48%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|285

|337

|style='background: #ffffe6; |217

|0.58%

|0.67%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%

Asian alone (NH)

|518

|527

|style='background: #ffffe6; |648

|1.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.31%

Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|67

|42

|style='background: #ffffe6; |42

|0.14%

|0.08%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%

Other race alone (NH)

|65

|66

|style='background: #ffffe6; |164

|0.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.33%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|879

|1,207

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,299

|1.79%

|2.40%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.66%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|1,642

|2,821

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,254

|3.34%

|5.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.60%

Total

|49,129

|50,251

|style='background: #ffffe6; |49,326

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the census of 2020, there were 49,326 people, 18,806 households, and 12,515 families residing in the county.

=2010 census=

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 20, 2015 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2010, there were 50,251 people, 20,065 households, and 13,721 families living in the county. The population density was {{convert|90|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}. There were 22,677 housing units at an average density of {{convert|40|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 74.1% White, 19.3% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.8% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. 5.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,065 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,353, and the median income for a family was $50,685. Males had a median income of $34,856 versus $24,569 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,722. 14.8% of the population and 11.4% of families were below the poverty line. 19.6% of those under the age of 18 and 10.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

=2000 census=

As of the census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 14, 2011 |title=U.S. Census website }} of 2000, there were 49,129 people, 18,878 households, and 13,629 families living in the county. The population density was {{convert|88|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}. There were 21,779 housing units at an average density of {{convert|39|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 74.4% White, 20.4% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 1.3% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. 3.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 2.85% of the population reported speaking Spanish at home, while 1.51% speak German.{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=1&county_id=45&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r |title=All languages spoken in Dale County |website=Modern Language Association Data Center Results |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930194943/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=1&county_id=45&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}

There were 18,878 households, out of which 36% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.0.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,998, and the median income for a family was $37,806. Males had a median income of $29,844 versus $19,988 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,010. 15% of the population and 12.6% of families were below the poverty line. 19.4% of those under the age of 18 and 16.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

Dale County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election is Jimmy Carter, who won it by a majority in 1976.

{{PresHead|place=Dale County, Alabama|source={{cite web |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ |access-date=November 16, 2016}}}}

Education

Most areas are zoned to Dale County School District. However four municipalities have their own school districts: Daleville City School District, Dothan City School District, Enterprise City School District, and Ozark City School District. Additionally residents of Fort Rucker are assigned to schools operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA),{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st01_al/schooldistrict_maps/c01045_dale/DC20SD_C01045.pdf |title=2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Dale County, AL |website=United States Census Bureau |access-date=July 4, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st01_al/schooldistrict_maps/c01045_dale/DC20SD_C01045_SD2MS.txt Text list] - "Fort Rucker School District" refers to DoDEA schools. for elementary school.

Students beyond the elementary level at Fort Rucker may attend non-DoDEA schools for secondary levels, with an on-post family choosing one of the following three options: Daleville City, Enterprise City, or Ozark City.{{cite web |url=https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/fort-rucker/education/education |title=Fort Rucker Education |website=Military OneSource |access-date=July 5, 2022}}.