Beatrice

Beatrice is located in north-central Monroe County in the southwestern corner of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

Beatrice was established by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad during construction of a line between Pine Apple, Wilcox County, and Repton, Conecuh County, in 1899-1900. The town was named for the granddaughter of the general superintendent of construction on the project and was constructed on land gifted by local landowner Barbara Robbins to the railroad for a right of way. The Robbins home was later converted into a popular hotel that was in service for many years. The Robbins family also sold much of their remaining land to create the town center. Beatrice was incorporated in 1901.

The town prospered as a shipping center, with one of the main products being cotton from the surrounding farms. The first school was called the Quigley Institute after a local land speculator who had bought the bulk of the land from the Robbins family and laid it out as a town. The first bank opened in 1907. Businesses in town include a 100-year-old outdoors store.

Beatrice's population according to the 2010 Census was 301. Of that number, 76.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American, 23.6 percent as white, and 0.3 percent as Native American. The town's median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $24,609, and the per capita income was $26,799.

According to 2010 Census estimates, the work force in Beatrice was divided among the following industrial categories:

· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (28.4 percent)
· Manufacturing (27.7 percent)
· Public administration (11.3 percent)
· Retail trade (7.8 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (7.8 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (5.0 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (4.3 percent)
· Construction (3.5 percent)
· Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (2.1 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste   management services (2.1 percent)

Education

Schools in Beatrice are part of the Monroe County school system; the town has approximately 250 students and 15 teachers in one K-12 school.

State Highway 265 runs north from the center of Beatrice, and State Highway 21/47 runs south and east.

The Robbins Hotel (1840) and the New Hope Baptist Church (1870) are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Monroe County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Monroe County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2004.