Repton

Repton is located in western Conecuh County in the south-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

The Louisville and Nashville Railroad finished a long-awaited branch line between Pine Apple, Wilcox County, and Repton in 1899. A U.S. post office was also established in Repton that year. The office moved frequently the first few years of its existence, usually to the place of business or home of the current postmaster. In the early twentieth century, Repton was an active railroad town and derived its name from the surname of a local railroad official. It supported several banks, a number of stores, a cotton gin, and a hospital. The town incorporated in January 1899, and a Masonic lodge was founded there in 1907.

Repton's population almost doubled in the decade after its incorporation. After its founding and a brief heyday as a railroad boom town, Repton suffered the fate of so many other railroad centers. As passenger traffic dwindled and finally disappeared from the trains, and as shipping shifted towards trucks instead of trains, the town began to decline. Repton's population in 1920 was 422; by 2010, it had shrunk to 282. In 2013, the town successfully defeated an effort to locate a landfill for out-of-state trash there.

Repton's population according to the 2010 Census was 282. Of that number, 53.9 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 43.6 percent as African American, 2.5 percent as two or more races, and 0.4 percent as Hispanic or Latino. The town's median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $15,313, and the per capita income was $6,448.

Employment

According to the 2010 Census, the workforce in Repton was divided among the following occupational categories:

· Manufacturing (55.6 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (27.8 percent)
· Construction (8.3 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (5.6   percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (2.8 percent)

Schools in Repton are part of the Conecuh County school system; the town has approximately 185 students and 14 teachers in one pre-K-8 junior high school.

U.S. Highway 84/State Highway 41 runs through the northern half of Repton, going northeast-southwest. State Highway 41 dead-ends into 84 from the south. The Alabama Railroad Company, a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp, operates a line that runs north-south through Repton.

Repton holds a Heritage Homecoming Festival in April; it features a barbecue dinner, dancing, an auction, and arts and crafts vendors. The town also holds an annual Christmas Parade and a Mardi Gras celebration on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday that precedes the Christian period of Lent.

Additional Resources

Conecuh County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Conecuh County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2002.