Arkadelphia, Alabama

Arkadelphia is an unincorporated community located in far southern Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is situated just a few miles southwest of the town of Colony.

Arkadelphia, Alabama
Unincorporated community
Arkadelphia, Alabama Location in Alabama.
Coordinates: 33°54′18″N 86°57′45″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Cullman
Elevation	367 ft (112 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	35077, 35033
Area code(s)	256
GNIS feature ID	113207[1]

History

Arkadelphia was settled in the 19th century, with a post office opening in 1854. It was initially located with Blount County. The town's etymology is disputed. Some believe Arkadelphia was the name of the wife of the first postmaster John A. Donaldson. Some believe it is a combination of "Ark-", the name of an early settlement in nearby Winston County, and "-adelphia", a pseudo-Greek combination meaning "brother-place," likely taken from Philadelphia.[2] There is no known connection to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, an incorporated city founded in 1809 and renamed Arkadelphia in 1839. After redrawing the county lines around 1900, it was shifted into Cullman County.

Railroad engineer J.E. Willoughby was born in Arkadelphia in 1871.

Arkadelphia is located on Alabama Highway 91.

Demographics

Arkadelphia Village

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	195		—
U.S. Decennial Census[3]

Arkadelphia first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village within Blount County.[4] The population of the village made it the second largest community in the county behind the then-county seat of Blountsville. The village did not report again on the census, although the precinct bearing its name appeared in 1890 and continued to report until 1950. See precinct below.

Historic Demographics

Census Year	Population	State Place Rank	Blount County Place Rank
1880[lower-alpha 1][5]	195 (-)[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3]	105th (-)	2nd (-)[lower-alpha 4]

Arkadelphia Precinct: Blount County (1890-1900); Cullman County (1910-50)

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	1,173		—
1900	918		−21.7%
1910	836		−8.9%
1920	889		6.3%
1930	1,006		13.2%
1940	1,131		12.4%
1950	944		−16.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

The Arkadelphia Precinct (Blount County 24th Precinct) first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census.[7] With the redrawing of the county lines after 1900, and Arkadelphia's shift into Cullman County, the new 7th precinct of Cullman County bore the name of Arkadelphia and continued to report on the census from 1910–1950. In 1960,[8] the precinct was merged as part of a larger reorganization of counties into the census division of Bremen.

References

Notes

1. 1st year Arkadelphia reported on census
2. (-)Indicates no immediate prior population figure or rank
3. Racial demographics not reported for places of less than 2,500 on 1880 census.
4. In 1880, Arkadelphia was in Blount County

References

1. "Arkadelphia". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
2. Foscue, Virginia. Place Names in Alabama. University: U of Alabama Press, 1989.
3. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
4. http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-09.pdf, 1880 AL Census
5. http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-09.pdf, 1880 AL Census
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
7. http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1890a_v1-07.pdf, 1890 AL Census
8. http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/37721510v1p2ch2.pdf