Ariton

Ariton is located in northwest Dale County in the southeast corner of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government.

History

Ariton was created from the merger of two rival towns: Charlton (originally called Dean’s Station) was a stop on the Central of Georgia Railroad, and Ariosta was a stop on the Alabama Midland Railroad, about a mile from Charlton. The towns competed with one another for shipping customers, to the detriment of both. Town leaders met and decided to purchase land between the two existing towns to create a new town, to which most of the businesses from the separate towns would move.

In 1905, the towns purchased the necessary land, laid out plots, and began selling them. In April, a town well was dug in the center of the new town. Stores, a cotton gin, and cotton warehouses soon followed. Initially, the inhabitants of this new town wanted to name it Union City, but that name had already been taken. They decided instead to combine the first part of Ariosta and the last part of Charlton, and Ariton was born. A post office opened soon after the town was named, and the town incorporated in April 1906.

Churches and other institutions, particularly the Masonic Lodges, began to move to the new town and merge in 1906. The first school was built around 1907, and the first newspaper was published beginning in 1913.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Ariton recorded a population of 731. Of that number, 89.2 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 10.0 percent as African American, 8.6 percent as Hispanic, and 0.8 percent as two or more races. The town’s median household income was $29,762, and the per capita income was $17,849.

Employment

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

  • Manufacturing (16.5 percent)
  • Public administration (15.8 percent)
  • Retail trade (14.6 percent)
  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (12.7 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (11.9 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (10.0 percent)
  • Construction (7.7 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (5.0 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (3.5 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (1.2 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (1.2 percent)

Education

Schools in Ariton are part of the Dale County school system; the town has one K-12 school.

Transportation

State Highway 123 runs west-southeast through Ariton. State Highway 51 runs from southwest-northeast through town, and County Road 3 runs from the center of town to the northwest.

Events and Places of Interest

The Ariton Universalist Church and the Veterans Memorial Bridge just north of Ariton are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Additional Resources

Commander, Annie Retha. “History Of Ariton.” The Southern Star, Dec. 21, 1939.

McGee, Val L. Claybank Memories: A History of Dale County, Alabama. Ozark, Ala.: Dale County Historical Society, Inc., 1989.

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