Wetumpka

Wetumpka was long settled by the Muscogee people, whose territory extended through present-day Georgia and Alabama. It was near Fort Toulouse, built by French colonists in 1717, when they had claimed this territory for the king. Among the notable landmarks are the Wetumpka crater and the Jasmine Hill Gardens, with a full-sized replica of the Temple of Hera of Olympia, Greece. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The city is considered part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Area. It is known as "The City of Natural Beauty" and has been called "the most beautiful city in the world" by the National Park Service. The name is derived from a Native American language phrase we-wau tum-cau meaning "rumbling waters", believed to be a description of the sound of the nearby Coosa River at the rapids of the Devil's Staircase. The roar of theRapids reportedly could be heard for miles before the construction in the 20th century of Walter Bouldin Dam and Jordan Dam, when the river was captured as a reservoir behind the dam. In 1763, the French ceded the territory to the British following defeat in the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in North America). For nearly a quarter century, the British had control of this area. Several Scots and Irish traders, such as McGillivray and Weatherford, were active in the region. Their descendants became important Creek leaders because of their mothers' status.

Etymology

Wetumpka is a placename derived from the Muscogee Creek Native American language phrase we-wau tum-cau meaning "rumbling waters" It is believed to be a description of the sound of the nearby Coosa River at the rapids of the Devil's Staircase. The roar of the rapIDS reportedly could be heard for miles before the construction in the 20th century of Walter Bouldin Dam and Jordan Dam, when the river was captured as a reservoir behind the dam. After being forced west to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), by United States soldiers under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, theMuscogee named their major settlement there Wetumka, after their historic village. The name Wetumpka was adopted by the U.S. Army in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and is still used to refer to the area today. It is located on the banks of the Coosa, a tributary of the Red River, which flows into the Oklahoma River. The river is one of the largest rivers in Oklahoma, with a population of more than 1.5 million. The Coosa was once the largest river in the United States, but has now been reduced to less than one-third of its former size by the construction of the Jordan Dam in the 1930s and 1950s. The River was once a source of drinking water for millions of people, but is now a reservoir for the city of Oklahoma and surrounding areas.

History

Wetumpka was long settled by the Muscogee people, whose territory extended through present-day Georgia and Alabama. The French traded at Wetumpka and garrisoned Fort Toulouse until 1763, when they ceded the territory to the British. After Britain was defeated in the American Revolutionary War, it ceded its territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States in 1783. Between 1800 and 1812, European-American pioneers began to arrive, many with enslaved African-American laborers, and encroach on the lands of the Southeast Indian tribes. In 1811, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh of the upper Northwest appealed to the Creek to join his Western Confederacy to try to drive out and exterminate the European settlers west of the Appalachians. By the early 19th century, there were tensions among the Creek, with young men of the Upper Creek promoting a revival of religion and traditional culture, and the Lower Creek, more influenced by settlement and trade with European Americans in Georgia, becoming more assimilated. The city was formally incorporated in 1834. Cotton was the new state of Alabama, with cultivation of short-staple cotton made possible by Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin, which reduced the labor of processing. The new city was divided in half in half, with the western section in Autauga County located in Coosa County. The western section of Autosa County was laid out on a grid with houses and churches on the banks of the Coosa River.

Geography

Wetumpka is located southwest of the center of Elmore County at 32°3227N 86°1228W (32.540972, 86.207726) It sits on both sides of the Coosa River 5 miles (8 km) northeast of its confluence with the Tallapoosa River, where they merge to become the Alabama River. The city is located along many major US and state routes, notably U.S. Route 231, which runs east of downtown, leading north 28 mi (45 km) to Rockford. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wetumpka has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The Bibb Graves Bridge crosses the river here, and is the city's most recognizable landmark. On January 19, 2019, a tornado destroyed the First Presbyterian church and badly damaged the first Baptist church. The First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and First Baptist churches are located in the downtown area of the city, as are the First Baptist and the First United Methodist churches. The City is bordered on the northwest by theCoosa River. It has a total area of 10.5 square miles (27.2 km²), of which 10.1 sq miles (26.2km²) is land and 0.39 sq mi (1.0 km²) of water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 6,528 people and 2,206 households residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 64.88% White, 32.83% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 1.38% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. There were 2,139 housing units at an average density of 212 per square mile (81.7/km²) The city's median income was $35,536, and the median income for a family was $41,500. About 7.7% of families and 11.7%. of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7. of those age 65 or over. The city has a population of 7,220 as of the 2020 United States census, with 2,917 households, and 1,797 families residing in it. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was2.97. The median age was 38 years, with 18.4% under the age of 18, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there are 62.1 males. The per capita income for the city is $15,729. For every100 females age 18 or over, there is 54.2 males. The city is located on the Ohio River, which runs through the center of the town.

Culture, natural history, and recreation

Wetumpka was chosen out of 2,600 towns to be featured on HGTV's 8-episode Home Town Takeover, which started airing May 2, 2021. A meteorite, estimated to be 1,000 feet (300 m) wide, hit the area about 80 million years ago. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama, have built a casino on land abutting the city. Christmas on the Coosa is an annual series of events held in during the month of December. The city hosts the annual Coosa River Whitewater Festival, and was the site of the 2005 U.S. Freestyle Kayaking Nationals. The Swayback Bridge Trail is home to the annual mountain bike race, "Attack on Sway back". The city is popular with white water sports enthusiasts, attracting paddlers from all over the country. In 2002, Auburn University researchers published evidence and established the site as an internationally recognized impact crater. This outdoor museum was built in the 1930s on the estate of the Fitzpatrick family, who spent many years in Greece collecting replicas of ancient statuary to adorn their formal gardens at Jasmine Hill. The gardens are closed and will not re-open; they had several attractions including a full-sized replica of the Temple of Hera at Olympia. The tribe have announced plans for a major expansion of the casino to include a $246 million hotel, a second casino, and many other attractions in the complex as well. The new casino complex will employ over1,000 people and have a 20-story, 285-room hotel named Wind Creek Wetumpka.

Government and infrastructure

Wetumpka was previously the site of the Wetumpka State Penitentiary. The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women houses Alabama's female death row. The U.S. Postal Service operates the Wetumpska Post Office. In 2022, the Wetumpinga Police Department handcuffed and arrested a group of elderly ladies for feeding stray cats in a city park. They were convicted and sentenced by local judge Jeff Courtney. The case is now under appeal. The Wetumpsa Post Office is located in the town's downtown area. It is open seven days a week, seven nights a week. The post office is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the weather. It was established in 1881. It has a post office that opened in 1883. The town is home to the Alabama Department of Corrections, which has a prison for women. The prison houses the state's women's death row, which is the largest of its kind in the United States. It also houses a women's prison for men, which was built in the 1970s. The state's prison system has a budget of more than $1.5 billion a year. It's the largest prison system in the country. It houses the women's executioner, who is sentenced to death by lethal injection. The women are sentenced to life in prison, but can be eligible for parole after serving a maximum of 15 years. The female death-row inmate is currently serving a 20-year sentence.

Education

The city is within the Elmore County Public School System. Public schools include Wetumpka Elementary School, Wetumpk Middle School, and Wetumpkas High School. Redland Elementary School was formed by a merger of Redland Intermediate School and Redland Junior High. The city is also home to the Redland High School football team, which has won several state championships. The Redland School District has won three state championships in the last five years, the most recent in 2010. The school district also won a state championship in the 2010-11 school year, the first in the city's history. The district has won two state titles in the past three years, in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The high school football team has won one state championship, the 2011-12 season, and the 2012-13 season. The team has also won the state title in the 2014-15 school year and the 2013-14 school year as a result of a win in the state championship game against the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. It is the first time in the history of the school district that the school has won back-to-back state titles. The last time was in 1996-97, when the school won the district's first state championship. It was also the first state title for the school's junior high school team, the 2007-08 school year. The state title was won in the 2008-09 school year by the High School of Science and Technology, which was the first school to be part of the district.

Buildings

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. The following is a list of buildings in the U.S. that have been damaged by fire. The number of structures in this list is based on the number of buildings that have burned in the last few years.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Wetumpka, Elmore County, Alabama = 96.7. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 88. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 98. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Wetumpka = 5.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 7,220 individuals with a median age of 38.2 age the population grows by 9.99% in Wetumpka, Elmore County, Alabama population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 659.12 residents per square mile of area (254.48/km²). There are average 2.28 people per household in the 1,926 households with an average household income of $38,872 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.90% of the available work force and has dropped -8.45% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 14.20%. The number of physicians in Wetumpka per 100,000 population = 44.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Wetumpka = 52.4 inches and the annual snowfall = 0.2 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 94. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 216. 91 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 42.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 26, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Wetumpka, Elmore County, Alabama which are owned by the occupant = 53.98%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 30 years with median home cost = $106,920 and home appreciation of -2.00%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $2.27 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,025 per student. There are 17.6 students for each teacher in the school, 344 students for each Librarian and 444 students for each Counselor. 5.86% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.25% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.54% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).