Camp Hill

Camp Hill is located in Tallapoosa County in the east-central section of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

The Camp Hill area began to be settled by the early 1830s, just before Creek Indian Removal. The community initially was referred to as either Burnt Bull or Ashbank. The name Camp Hill most likely came from the area’s popularity as a camping place.

Camp Hill Railroad Depot Camp Hill remained primarily a farming community throughout the 1850s and 1860s. The Savannah and Memphis Railroad came through in 1870, bringing with it increased settlement. Camp Hill incorporated in 1895, and its economy at this time was fueled primarily by cotton gins and a brickyard. In 1898, Universalist minister Lyman Ward founded the Southern Industrial Institute to educate underprivileged rural youth. In 1948, it was renamed the Lyman Ward Military Academy.

Demographics

According to the 2020 Census, Camp Hill recorded a population of 1,264. Of that number, 91.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American, 7.2 percent as white, 2.1 percent as Hispanic, and 1.0 as two or more races. The town’s median household income was $27,222, and the per capita income was $14,858.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the work force in Camp Hill was divided among the following industrial categories:

  • Manufacturing (28.5 percent)
  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (23.7 percent)
  • Retail trade (14.2 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (10.1 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (9.2 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (4.7 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (4.7 percent)
  • Construction (2.5 percent)
  • Public administration (2.2 percent)

Education

Tallapoosa Hall Camp Hill is located within the Tallapoosa County School District. It has one public high school.

Transportation

Camp Hill is served by U.S. Highway 280, which runs northwest-southeast through the southwestern corner of the town, and State Highway 50, which runs northeast from the center of town.

Events and Places of Interest

The First Universalist Church (c. 1907) and Tallapoosa Hall at the Lyman Ward Military Academy are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. The town hosts the annual So-Phi Block Party held in mid-summer at City Park.

Additional Resources

Tallapoosa County Bicentennial Committee. Tallapoosa County: A History. Alexander City, Ala.: Service Printing Company, 1976.

Tallapoosa County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000.

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