Langston

Langston is located in southern Jackson County in the extreme northeastern corner of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

Buck’s Pocket Waterfall Prior to the arrival of white settlers, the Creeks and Cherokees controlled the area that now encompasses Langston. In 1810, white settlers established a small township that would eventually be called Coffeetown, named after the Coffee brothers who settled in the area. The town’s first post office was established in 1845, and its first postmaster was Langston Coffee. Coffeetown did not survive, reportedly because many of its residents moved to Texas in 1869. That same year, James Morgan sold 15 acres as town lots, and in 1870 this area became known as Langston after Langston Coffee. By the end of the nineteenth century, the town’s proximity to the Tennessee River spurred its economy as river transportation increased in the area. The town had expanded to include four physicians, a blacksmith shop, nine stores, and a school. The introduction of railroads and the growing number of automobiles on the new modern roads, however, led to the demise of river transportation, ultimately dooming the local economy. When the Tennessee River was dammed in 1938 to form Lake Guntersville, a portion of the town was permanently flooded, which further depleted both its population and its economy.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Langston recorded a population of 211. Of that number, 97.2 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 5.7 percent as Hispanic, 1.4 percent as African American, and 1.4 percent as two or more races. The town’s median household income was $51,667, and the per capita income was $42,359.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Langston was divided among the following industrial categories:

• Educational services, and health care and social assistance (31.7 percent)
• Wholesale trade (15.0 percent)
• Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (10.0 percent)
• Manufacturing (10.0 percent)
• Public administration (8.3 percent)
• Transportation and warehousing and utilities (8.3 percent)
• Construction (6.7 percent)
• Retail trade (5.0 percent)
• Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (3.3 percent)
• Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (1.7 percent)

Education

Students in Langston attend Jackson County schools; no public schools are located within the town limits.

Transportation

County Highway 67 bisects Langston running northeast-southwest.

Events and Places of Interest

Langston is located on Lake Guntersville, which offers a full range of water-sport activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. Buck’s Pocket State Park is located less than two miles southeast of town, and Lake Guntersville State Park is about five miles southwest of Langston. The Captain Jackson-Bottomlee House (ca. 1885) is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Additional Resources

Jackson County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Jackson County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1998.

Kennamer, John Robert, Sr. History of Jackson County, Alabama. 1935. Reprint, Scottsboro, Ala.: Jackson County Historical Association, 1993.