Cottonwood, Alabama

Cottonwood, Alabama
Town
Location in Houston County and the state of Alabama
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Houston
Area
• Total	5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
• Land	5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	164 ft (50 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,170
• Density	212.7/sq mi (82.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	36320
Area code	334
FIPS code	01-17824
GNIS feature ID	0116695

Cottonwood is a town in Houston County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 1,170.

Cottonwood is located at 31°3′13″N 85°18′9″W / 31.05361°N 85.30250°W / 31.05361; -85.30250Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (31.053646, -85.302409)Template:GR.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.3 km²), of which, 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.36%) is water.

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,170 people, 485 households, and 323 families residing in the town. The population density was 212.9 people per square mile (82.1/km²). There were 548 housing units at an average density of 99.7/sq mi (38.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 69.06% White, 29.06% Black or African American, 0.68% Native American, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 485 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,452, and the median income for a family was $32,065. Males had a median income of $25,833 versus $15,515 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,111. About 18.1% of families and 27.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.8% of those under age 18 and 42.1% of those age 65 or over.

• Curtis McGriff, former defensive lineman for the New York Giants of the National Football League
• Pete Coachman, former Major League Baseball player (California Angels)
• Rex Granger, Cottonwood High School running back who caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Quarterback Sammy McCall in the 1955 Peanut Bowl against Ozark High School. Would later earn acclaim as engineer of the "Sunken Carport" and the Base-Brawler of Prattville.
• Rose Granger, renown home-surgeon who stitched a cut up with a needle and household thread in the early 1900s. She later died from an infection.
• Esto Monk, noted philosopher and theologian.
• Lamar Kelly, World War II Hero, decorated numerous times for action in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters while serving in the United States Navy. Kelly also fought his way to the title of Severn River Naval Command Welterweight Boxing Champion and later United States Golden Gloves Welterweight Champion. Years later, he garnered acclaim as one of the nation's most innovative drug store retailers.

• Police Chief Jim Smith was formerly a member of the Dothan police force, until he was allowed to resign to avoid termination due to his distribution of unsigned defamatory letters to several elected officials and radio stations in the Dothan area after a $12,000.00 investigation was finalized by the Personnel Board and Hardwick, Hause & Segrest, Attorneys at Law
• Jim Smith was also set to be questioned by the FBI regarding his falsified statements and the letters mentioned above, but instead invoked his fifth amendment rights and refused to cooperate with their investigation when informed that he would receive no immunity from prosecution.
• The Cottonwood police department is notorious for exhibiting poor attitudes toward drivers, especially younger men and women, and is known to fabricate charges when no other option for retaliation is available.
• Chief Jim Smith was removed from his position as adjunct faculty member in the Criminal Justice department at Troy State University of Dothan on March 15, 2008 after it was determined by Alan T. Belsches, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, that Smith had falsified information in his letter of qualification regarding the school which he attended and the accreditation status of said school.
• Also visit: Dothan Police Chief John White's Press Release 1and Dothan Police Chief John White's Press Release 2

• Official Town Website
• WiregrassLive.com - Citizen-driven news and messages
• WiregrassNews.com - Local Internet News Site

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