Cullman

Cullman (founded in 1873, incorporated in 1878) is a city of 15,295 and the seat of Cullman County. It is located on Brindley Mountain, accessed via I-65 about halfway between Birmingham and Huntsville.

The present city lies along what was once the Black Warrior's Path, a trail connected the present site of Florence on the Tennessee River to the Black Warrior River south of Cullman. Davy Crockett, then fighting for Andrew Jackson in the Creek Indian War, joined a contingent of troops which followed the trail.

On April 30, 1863, Day's Gap near the present location of Cullman was the site of a small battle between Confederate forces commanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union troops commanded by Colonel Abel Streight. The US forces won the battle, but eventually surrendered to Forrest near the present site of Gaylesville in Cherokee County.

Ten years later, German-born John Cullmann who had fled his native country after the Revolutions of 1848, arrived in the area. He purchased 349 acres from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and established a colony for five families of his fellow immigrants. A former military engineer, Cullmann laid out the town plan according to his training and advertised the colony to other Germans. He published a German-language newspaper and was widely respected as the town's leader until his death in 1895.

The Benedictine Society of Alabama, which had operated a preparatory school in Cullman since 1893, established Saint Bernard College in 1929. After expanding to a four-year curriculum in the mid-1950s it was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and merged with Cullman College to form Southern Benedictine College. The college closed in 1979, but was reopened as the St Bernard Preparatory School in 1984.

Cullman residents downplayed their German heritage during World War I and World War II, but since the 1970s the city has promoted its cultural history with an annual Oktoberfest (sans beer, as the county is dry). The town has a sister city relationship with Frankweiler, Germany.

Long known as a "sundown town" that did not welcome African-Americans, Cullman voters elected James Fields, a minister and unemployment office worker from The Colony, one of the county's few black enclaves, to the Alabama House of Representatives, representing the majority-white District 12.

Geography

Cullman covers an area of 19.1 square miles, 95% dry land. Lake Catoma, within the city limits, provides the municipality's water supply.

Education

The Cullman City School System operates five schools: Cullman Primary School (Pre-K - First Grade), East Elementary (Second Grade - Sixth Grade), West Elementary (Second Grade - Sixth Grade), John G. Cullman Middle School (Seventh and Eighth Grades) and Cullman High School (Ninth Grade - Twelfth Grade). Other schools include Saint Bernard Preparatory School, a Benedictine boarding school (Ninth Grade - Twelfth Grade), Saint Bernard Middle School (Seventh and Eighth Grade), Sacred Heart Elementary School (Pre-K - Sixth Grade), and Saint Paul's Lutheran School (Pre-K - Sixth Grade).

Media

Radio stations

• WFMH 1340 AM (Sports/Talk)
• WKUL 92.1 FM (Country/Talk)
• WMCJ 1460 AM (Southern Gospel)
• WYDE-FM 101.1 FM (Talk Radio)

Newspaper

• The Cullman Times- daily

Health Care

• Cullman Regional Medical Center - 115 bed facility

Transportation

• File:I-65.svg Interstate 65
• File:US 31.svg U.S. Highway 31
• File:US 278.svg U.S. Highway 278
• File:Alabama 69.svg Alabama State Route 69
• File:Alabama 157.svg Alabama State Route 157
• CSX Transportation Railroad
• Folsom Field municipal airport

Demographics

year     pop.     %change

1880 |    426 |    -     
1890 |  1,017 | +138.7%  
1900 |  1,255 | + 23.4%  
1910 |  2,130 | + 69.7%  
1920 |  2,467 | + 15.8%  
1930 |  2,786 | + 13.3%  
1940 |  5,074 | + 82.1%  
1950 |  7,523 | + 48.3%  
1960 | 10,853 | + 44.3%  
1970 | 12,601 | + 16.1%  
1980 | 13,084 | +  9.5%  
1990 | 13,367 | +  2.1%  
2000 | 13,995 | +  4.7%   
2008 | 15,295 | +  9.3%   

As of the 2000 census, there were 13,995 people, 6,059 households, and 3,762 families residing in the city.

The population density was 765 people per square mile. There were 6,679 housing units at an average density of 365.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96% White, with 5% of the population Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,059 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,164, and the median income for a family was $41,313. Males had a median income of $32,863 versus $21,647 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,484. About 9.4% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable persons from Cullman

• JoJo Billingsley, singer/songwriter
• Wesley Britt, football player
• Jim Folsom, Governor of Alabama 1947-1951 and 1955-1959
• Jim Folsom, Jr, Governor of Alabama 1993-95, former and current Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
• Roger Hallmark, country musician
• Kurt Heinecke, composer and voice actor
• Harold E. Martin, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
• Channing Tatum, model and actor

References

• Nossiter, Adam (February 21, 2008) "Race Matters Less in Politics of South." The New York Times

External links

• City of Cullman, Alabama web site
• History of Cullman, on the Cullman High School web site
• Cullman Schools web Site