DeKalb County


DeSoto Falls is located in DeSoto State Park, DeSoto FallsHome of the famous gospel-country music debut, the Louvin Brothers, the Grammy-winning country-music group Alabama and the Flock Family of NASCAR fame, DeKalb County is located in the northeastern corner of the state. The county is also the home of some of the most scenic areas in the state, including the Little River Canyon and its many waterfalls. The county is governed by an elected five-member commission and includes 16 incorporated communities each governed by a mayor and city council.

· Founding Date: January 9, 1836
· Area: 778 square miles
· Population: 68,014 (2006 Census Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Big Wills Creek, Town Creek, Sauty Creek
· Major Highways: I-59, U.S. 11
· County Seat: Fort Payne
· Largest City: Fort Payne

History 

Since the DeKalb County seat was moved to DeKalb County CourthouseDeKalb County was created by an act of the state legislature on January 9, 1836, and is named for the Revolutionary War hero, General John B. DeKalb. Prior to European American settlement, the area was occupied by the Cherokee, most notably Sequoyah, who created the Cherokee syllabary at Wills Town. In 1835, DeKalb County became part of the lands ceded by the Cherokee Nation to the federal government in the Treaty of New Echota. A majority of the Cherokees opposed the signing of this treaty, however, and refused to leave. Pres. Andrew Jackson sent federal troops to transport the Indians to new lands in the west. Troops were ordered to build stockade forts in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia and forcibly remove the Indians from their lands in preparation for relocating them to Indian Teritory (now Oklahoma) in what became known as the Trail of Tears. Captain John Payne was sent to Willstown Mission, present-day Fort Payne, to command the local garrison of soldiers and see to the construction of the stockade.

During the Civil War, DeKalb County, like many north Alabama counties, opposed secession. Though no major battles were fought in the county, the tiny town of Valley Head was home to a Union encampment during the campaign to seize Chattanooga. The county has had six county seats, with Fort Payne becoming the final and present one in 1876. The current courthouse is the third courthouse built since the 1870s.

Major Cities and Demographics 

At the time of the 2000 Census, DeKalb County recorded a population of 64,452, a 17 percent increase from the 1990 Census. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 2006 population was 68,014, with 96 percent White, 1.8 percent African-American, and 9 percent Hispanic, with some reporting two or more races. In 2004 the median household was $32,286, compared with $37,062 for the remainder of the state. The per capita income was $15,818 in 1999, compared with $18,189 for the state. The 2006 Census Bureau estimates list Fort Payne's population at 13,771. Other population centers in the county include Rainsville (4,871), Henagar (2,541), Crossville (1,459), and Valley Head (648).

Economy 

Fort Payne, the DeKalb County seat, is the Sock FactoryThe first settlers in DeKalb County established homesteads in the fertile valleys, but many others settled in the surrounding hilly areas of Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain. The primary crops were grain, corn, and cotton grown for domestic purposes. Many farmers also raised livestock. After the Civil War, the area economy received a boost when the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad Company reached Birmingham in 1870. In 1877, the railroad was taken over by Alabama Great Southern. During the early twentieth century, the first of many hosiery factories moved to Fort Payne. Today, with more than 100 plants and 5,000 employees, Fort Payne bills itself as the "sock capital of the world."

The workforce in present-day DeKalb County is made up of the following occupations: 37.3 percent production, transportation, and material moving, 19.7 percent management and professional, 18.6 percent sales and office, 12.2 percent construction, extraction, and maintenance, 10.7 percent service industry, and less than 2 percent fishing and agriculture. The DeKalb County school system currently employs 532 teachers who serve more than 7,900 students in 14 schools. In addition, the Fort Payne City School System employs 163 teachers who serve more than 2,600 students in four schools.

Geography 

DeKalb County is 24th in size among Alabama DeKalb County MapComprising approximately 778 square miles, DeKalb County lies in the northeastern area of the state, wholly within the Cumberland Plateau physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Jackson County, to the east by the state of Georgia, to the south by Cherokee and Etowah counties, and to the west by Marshall County. A small portion of DeSoto State Park lies in the eastern part of the county.

Although there are no major waterways in DeKalb County, several tributaries of the Tennessee River, including South Sauty, Big Wills, and Town creeks, intersect the area. Interstate 59 and U.S. 11, both running north-south through the center of the county, are the area's major highways. Fort Payne Municipal Airport is the county's only public airport.

Events and Places of Interest 

The Alabama Fan Club and Museum in Fort Alabama Fan Club and MuseumThe county is famous for a unique "Sand Mountain" musical sound and a variety of famous musicians. The Louvin Brothers were one of country music's most famous performing groups during the 1950s. Fort Payne is home to the Alabama Fan Club & Museum, which celebrates the history and achievements of the group Alabama, which was named Country Music Group of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America. The museum houses the group's many awards as well as collections of items relating to their youth in Fort Payne. Cloudmont Ski Resort in Mentone, the only snow-ski resort in the state, features two 1,000-foot, beginner-intermediate slopes. DeKalb County's unique sandstone cliffs attract rock climbers from all over the Southeast, and DeSoto State Park features hiking, scenic waterfalls, and canyons. Little River Falls, located in Fort Payne, lies just upstream from the headwaters of Little River Canyon. In 1992 the waterfall became part of Little River Canyon National Preserve, one of the nation's newest national parks. Sequoyah Caverns, located in Valley Head, features unique reflective underground lakes known as "looking-glass" pools.  

Cloudmont Ski Resort in Mentone, northeast DeKalb County, Snowboarding in MentoneFounded in 1908, the annual DeKalb County Fiddlers Convention features more than 10 categories in which contestants can register, including old-time fiddling, sacred harp music, banjos, and bluegrass. DeKalb County is the starting point for the annual Trail of Tears Motorcycle Trail, which commemorates the Cherokee removal to the west, and it also plays host to portions of the "world's longest yard sale," which runs along the Lookout Mountain scenic highway.

Additional Resources  

Heritage of DeKalb County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1998.

Historical Committee of Landmarks of DeKalb County, Inc. Landmarks: A Pictorial History of Dekalb County, Alabama. Collegedale, Tenn.: The College Press, 1971.

Stewart, Mrs. Frank Ross. Alabama's DeKalb County. Centre, Ala.: Stewart University Press, 1980.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published August 29, 2007
Last updated January 21, 2010