Sipsey

Town of Sipsey
Incorporated	1965
Population	965
Mayor	Brenda Robinson
School district	Walker County Schools
Government	Sipsey Town Council Sipsey Fire Department Sipsey Police Department
Web site	townofparrish.org
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Sipsey is a town of 437 occupying 0.5 square miles in eastern Walker County. The community was founded in 1912 by the DeBardeleben Coal Company as a mining camp, named for the nearby Sipsey River.

The town was laid out by mining engineer Milton Fies. The company built 200 4-room houses and rented them to miners' families for $6 a month. A camp church building, shared by Baptist and Methodist congregations on an alternating basis, was erected in 1913. The company continued to manage the community, which peaked at about 900 residents, into the 1950s.

Sipsey was incorporated as a town in 1965, and is the smallest incorporated municipality in Walker County.

Two people were killed and 84 houses destroyed by two separate tornadoes during the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak.

Mayors

• Anita Sanders
• Belinda McCain, 2012-
• Jerry Mack Saddler, died June 22, 2019
• Brenda Robinson, appointed July 2019

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 552 people, 212 households, and 149 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,124.5 people per square mile. There were 239 housing units at an average density of 486.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 68% White and 31% Black.

There were 212 households out of which 33% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51% were married couples living together, 16% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30% were non-families. 28% of all households were made up of individuals and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the town, the population was spread out with 27% under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 27% from 25 to 44, 24% from 45 to 64, and 13% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,000, and the median income for a family was $26,500. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $20,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,644. About 23% of families and 25% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26% of those under age 18 and 31% of those age 65 or over.

References

• Walker County Heritage Book Committee (1999) The Heritage of Walker County, Alabama. Clanton: Heritage Publishing Consultants
• Morrison, Pat (2004) Walker County, Alabama Postcard History Series. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Acadia Publishing. ISBN 1439629668
• Kaetz, James P. (August 8, 2018) "Sipsey". Encyclopedia of Alabama Online - accessed July 22, 2019