Locust Fork

This article is about the community in Blount County. For other uses, see Locust Fork (disambiguation).

Town of Locust Fork
Incorporated	1977
Population	1,192
Mayor	Joseph Hughes
School district	Blount County Schools
Government	Locust Fork Town Council Locust Fork Fire Department Locust Fork Police Department
Web site	http://www.locustfork.com
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Locust Fork is a town of about 1,192 in 3.9 square miles of central Blount County. The community name comes from the proximity of the town to the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, itself named for the black locust trees along its banks.

Locust Fork is located along one of the NE to SW ridgelines that make up the southern end of the Appalachian mountain chain. Nick Hudson built an inn at the site of the present town in the early 1800s, serving hog drivers from Tennessee bringing their stock to market in Alabama.

The area has been mined for coal over the past 100 years but there are no current mining operations in the immediate area.

Locust Fork straddles Alabama Highway 79, which is a north-south route running from Birmingham northeastward to Scottsboro and Sand Mountain which also serves as an alternate route from Birmingham to Huntsville or Chattanooga.Blount County Road 13 runs northwestward to connect to Alabama Highway 160 between the Hayden and Nectar communities. Blount County Road 15 intersects Alabama 79 just north of Locust Fork and provides a connection to the county seat located at Oneonta. Also located along County Road 15 is the Limestone Springs Golf Course and residential development. Nearest interstate highways are Interstate 65 located some 15 miles west of Locust Fork and Interstate 59 located some 25 miles east of Locust Fork.

Locust Fork High School and Locust Fork Elementary School are located in the center of the town along Alabama Highway 79. The first school in the community was at Tabernacle Methodist Church. A new public school was constructed in 1921 and expanded in the same decade. In 1937 the Works Progress Administration contributed to construction of a new high school. That building was destroyed by fire on January 10, 1961. The school was rebuilt on the same site.

A small number of small businesses and retail outlets are located in the community, including a dental office, pharmacy, and medical clinic. Daisy's and Birtie's and a Mexican restaurant supplement fast food dining from Subway and Jack's.

Locust Fork is located in the Birmingham television and radio market and is served locally by The Blount County News.

Government

The Town of Locust Fork was incorporated on January 18, 1977 with F. M. Wilder as its first mayor. Locust Fork Town Council members included Hoyt Ingram, Roderick Jett, James Glass, Glenn Osborne and Paul Marsh. A Locust Fork Volunteer Fire Department was organized on May 23, 1978 with Rob Rutherford as chief. The community is patrolled by the Blount County Sheriff's Office.

The current mayor, elected in 2012, is Joseph Hughes. Council members are Weslie Powell (Mayor Pro-Tem), Sarah Holt, Charles Gilliland, Robert Chamblee and Barbara Richey.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,016 people, 362 households, and 300 families residing in the town. The population density was 292.0/square male. There were 385 housing units at an average density of 110.6/ sq. mi. The racial makeup of the town was 99% White.

There were 362 households out of which 38.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.9% were non-families. 15.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $39,333, and the median income for a family was $41,912. Males had a median income of $36,797 versus $24,688 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,563. About 6.6% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

• "Locust Fork, Alabama" (February 18, 2008) Wikipedia - accessed March 7, 2008

External links

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• Locust Fork website