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'Demopolis' is a city in Marengo County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 7,540.

Contents

History

Demopolis in the Arts

Geography

Transportation

Demographics

Famous Demopolis people

External links

Further reading

History

Demopolis was founded by a group of Bonapartists who, fearing for their lives after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, sought refuge in the United States. Arriving first in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they petitioned the U.S. Congress to sell them property and received permission to buy four townships at $2 per acre—provided that they would cultivate grape vines and olive trees. Following advice obtained from experienced Western pioneers, they determined that Alabama would provide a good climate for cultivating these crops. In July of 1818, the pioneers settled at the white limestone bluffs on the Tombigbee River at the present site of Demopolis.
Most prominent and wealthiest among the émigrés was Count Lefebvre Desnouettes, who had been a cavalry officer with the rank of Lieutenant-General, under Napoleon. Other prominent aristocrats among them included Lieutenant-General Henry L'Allemand, M. Peniers, and Colonel Nicholas Rooul, whose Italian wife had been Marchioness of Sinabaldi, and maid of honor to Queen Caroline. Unsurprisingly, these French aristocrats and their comrades did not find pioneer life in Alabama to be favorably comparable to Parisian court life. Due to a variety of adversities, their pioneering efforts were not the great success for which they had hoped.
Within a few months, they were to find that their new homes did not fall under the territories encompassed by the congressional approval, and the “Vine and Olive Colony” was soon forced to move. According to local testimony, olive tree remnants of their efforts still survive in Demopolis, along with the noble name (Greek for “City of the People”) they gave their settlement.

Demopolis in the Arts

The 1949 John Wayne movie "The Fighting Kentuckian" is set in Demopolis and tells a story about an interaction with the original French settlers. Given its noble beginnings, Demopolis has always been a proud city with an aristocratic social culture. According to a historical marker on the town square, Demopolis society was the inspiration for "The Little Foxes," a Broadway play. A melodrama by Lillian Hellman, it was first performed in 1939, with Alabama-born actress Tallulah Bankhead giving a legendary performance in the lead role of Regina. This hit production ran a year on Broadway. The 1941 film version was directed by William Wyler and starred Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall and Teresa Wright, plus original Broadway cast members Patricia Collinge (Birdie), Charles Dingle (Ben), Dan Duryea (Leo), John Marriott (Cal) and Carl Benton Reid (Oscar). It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture in 1941. In 1949 the play was adapted into an opera by Marc Blitzstein, under the title Regina.

Geography

Demopolis is located at 32°30'34" North, 87°50'14" West (32.509465, -87.837265).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.3 km² (12.5 mi²). 31.7 km² (12.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (2.00%) is water.

Transportation

Demopolis transportation is provided by U.S. Highway 80, U.S. Highway 43 and soon to be Interstate 85 by the extension from Meridian, Mississippi to Montgomery. Demopolis also has a municipal airport west of town. It is supported by a bus system West Alabama Transportation.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,540 people, 3,014 households, and 2,070 families residing in the city. The population density was 238.0/km² (616.4/mi²). There were 3,311 housing units at an average density of 104.5/km² (270.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 47.75% White, 50.90% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.20% Asian, none Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 0.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,014 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 22.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,481, and the median income for a family was $35,752. Males had a median income of $37,206 versus $20,265 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,687. About 26.0% of families and 30.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.3% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.

Famous Demopolis people

★ Waldo Semon, an inductee of the Inventor Hall of Fame and the inventor of vinyl and holder of over a hundred patents, was born in Demopolis.

★ John C. Calhoun II (1843-1918), Wall Street financier who supported the building of the New South, Grandson of John C. Calhoun

★ Thomas N. Todd, (1938- ), a civil rights attorney and public speaker

★ Arthur G. Gaston, (1892-1996) business titan and civil rights activist who was an important advisor to presidents such as John F. Kennedy

★ Arthur Mayer, a pioneer movie producer with MGM, film scholar, and university professor at Dartmouth and Stanford (1886)

★ Jim Rogers, a Columbia University financier who co-founded the Quantum Fund, called "The Indiana Jones of Finance" by Time Magazine

★ Michelle Richmond (November 12, 1970), Award-winning fiction writer and essayist (see The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, Dream of the Blue Room)

★ James Haskins (1941-2005), public school teacher and prize-winning author (See Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher, The Cotton Club, Black Music in America, Outward Dreams: Black Inventors and Their Inventions. For younger readers, The March on Washington, Black Eagles: African Americans in Aviation.);

★ Hudson Strode (1892-1976) an influential teacher of creative writing at the University of Alabama from 1924-1964, who was honored in 1961 by King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden in recognition of his contributions toward strengthening the cultural relations between the United States and Sweden.[1]

★ Marshall Davis Miles, (1905-1997) a businessman who helped manage the boxing career of Joe Louis;

★ Dr. George Vernon Irons, champion athlete at the University of Alabama (1920-1924) and long-time Samford University professor

★ Selwyn Vickers, M.D., a gastrointestinal surgeon and national leader in the research and treatment of pancreatic cancer. He is senior scientist and principal investigator for the Pancreatic Cancer SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School

★ Samuel Ginn, A pioneer in the wireless communications industry who served as chairman of Vodafone and now serves as a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees and is the namesake for AU’s Ginn College of Engineering

★ Paul Phillips, major league baseball player who played for the Kansas City Royals

★ Andy Phillips, major league baseball player for the New York Yankees

★ Jack Ballas, author of several books, including Maverick Guns, Tomahawk Canyon, and Durango Gunfight

★ Benjie Spence, member of the eclectic post-rock band Garage Sale Warrior

★ Wyatt Blassingame, author of many books, including: The Navy's Fliers in WWII; Great Trains of the World; Frontier Doctors; For Better or for Worse; A World Explorer, Ponce de Leon; Eleanor Roosevelt, French Foreign Legion; Live From the Devil; Golden Geyser, Halo of Spears. He also wrote over 500 short stories.

★ Theo Ratliff, NBA star (currently of the Boston Celtics)

★ Man Rock Ski, rapper

★ Margaret Wright Jenkins, semiconductor chemist & inventor of the Wright Etch

★ Trish Williford, a television news reporter for CBS 8 News in Montgomery.

External links

★ Demopolis Chamber of Commerce: Historic sites

★ JSTOR: Early history of French settlers of Demopolis

★ Demopolis Live

★ Demopolis Times

Further reading

★ ''The French grant in Alabama: A history of the founding of Demopolis'' - Gaius Whitfield

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