Talladega

City of Talladega
Incorporated	1835
Population	15,143
Mayor	Timothy Ragland
School district	Talladega City Schools
Government	Talladega City Council Talladega Fire Department Talladega Police Department
Web site	talladega.com
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Talladega, incorporated on January 9, 1835, is the county seat of Talladega County. Its 23.9 square miles is located in north central part of the county, about 50 miles east of Birmingham and 10 miles south of I-20 at Lincoln. To the northwest of Talladega is Lake Logan Martin, and to the southeast is the Talladega National Forest.

In the 2000 census it had a population of 15,143. The mayor is Timothy Ragland.

Talladega is located in territory ceded by the Creek Indians in 1832. It was founded on land granted to Joseph Bruner, an African American who served as an interpreter in the Creek Indian War. Bruner sold his half-section to Jesse Duran who donated it to the state as the site of a town in return for half the proceeds from the lot sales. It became the seat of the county courthouse by a margin of 1 vote in an 1835 referendum. Construction of the Talladega County Courthouse, completed in 1838, was financed by a special tax on gambling establishments.

In 1858 Talladega was selected as the home for the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. During the Civil War volunteers from the area formed the Talladega Rifles. Uniforms and nitre were produced in Talladega for the war effort, and the city was home to a Confederate hospital and prison. The town was invaded in July 1864 by Union troops tasked with destroying the Western Railroad which was taking supplies to Atlanta. The depot in Tallageda and its associated stores were burned. Wilson's Raiders under General Croxton returned to Talladega burning buildings and looting stores shortly after Lee's surrender.

The Reconstruction period saw the town's economic base in ruins. Local African Americans founded Talladega College, but the city remained a relatively lawless frontier settlement until Mayor William Skaggs established the Talladega Police Department in the late 1880s. Skaggs also oversaw the construction of a water works, a prison, and the establishment of the Talladega City Schools system.

Horace Ware's Clifton Iron Company brought the first new industry to the area, later joined by marble quarries and textile mills. The Bemis Bag Company spurred the growth of an entire community, called Bemiston. The Brecon community on the outskirts of Talladega became home to numerous World War II-era plants. The construction of the Talladega Superspeedway in 1968 put the city firmly on the auto-racing map.

Two National Historic Landmarks are within Talladega, the J. L. M. Curry residence and Talladega College's Swayne Hall.

Demographics

year     pop.     %change

1850 |  1,320 |     -   |
1870 |  1,933 |  +46.4% | 
1880 |  1,233 |  -36.2% |
1890 |  2,063 |  +67.3% | 
1900 |  2,063 |      0% |
1910 |  5,854 | +183.8% | 
1920 |  6,546 |  +11.8% |
1930 |  7,596 |  +16.0% |
1940 |  9,298 |  +22.4% |
1950 | 13,134 |  +41.3% |
1960 | 17,742 |  +35.1% |
1970 | 17,662 |   -0.5% |
1980 | 19,128 |   +8.3% |
1990 | 18,175 |   -5.0% |
2000 | 15,143 |  -20.0% |
2010 | 15,676 |   +3.5% | 
2010 | 15,861 |   +1.2% | 

As of the 2020 census, there were 15,861 people, 5,553 households, and 3,334 families residing in the city. The population was 60% Black or African-American, 40% white, 3% mixed race or other, and 3% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

References

• The Heritage of Talladega County, Alabama (2000) Clanton, Alabame: Heritage Publishing Consultants
• White, Walter Belt (2003) Talladega: Pathways to the Past. Images of America series. Charleston, South Carolina: Acadia Publishing'
• Lewis, Herbert J. (December 10, 2009) "Talladega" Encyclopedia of Alabama - accessed February 11, 2010

External links

• City of Talladega website