Daleville, Alabama

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Daleville Avenue in Daleville, Alabama
Nickname(s): Gateway to Fort Rucker
Daleville, Alabama is located in Alabama
Location in Alabama.
Coordinates: 31°18′8″N 85°42′39″W﻿ / ﻿31.30222°N 85.71083°W﻿ / 31.30222; -85.71083
Country United States
State Alabama
County Dale
 • Total 13.5 sq mi (35 km2)
 • Land 13.5 sq mi (35 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 331 ft (101 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 5,295
 • Density 344.7/sq mi (132.9/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 36322
Area code(s) 334
FIPS code 01-19360
GNIS feature ID 0117016

Daleville is a city in Dale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 4,653. It is part of the EnterpriseOzark Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city's nickname is "Gateway to Fort Rucker", as this U.S. Army post is located just north of town. Cairns Army Airfield is located to the south of Daleville on the road to nearly Clayhatchee.


Daleville, originally known as "Dale's Court House", was founded circa 1830 by veterans of the Creek Indian War who had settled in Dale County following that conflict. It was the original county seat of Dale County but lost that honor when Coffee County split from Dale in 1841, at which time the seat was removed first to Newton, and then later to Ozark where it remains today.

Long a tiny farming community, Daleville saw significant expansion during the mid-to-late twentieth century with the establishment and enlargement of Fort Rucker, the U.S. Army's primary aviation training post. Douglas Brown, a former mayor of Ozark, teamed up with two Georgia businessmen, L.C. Hall and Bob Culpepper, to develop the city. Securing a 1.5 million dollar loan, the trio purchased 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land in Daleville, constructed a lagoon sewer system and began to build the town house by house, shopping center by shopping center.[1] Numerous military personnel then made their homes in the community, and many elected to stay after their retirement or otherwise completing their service obligation. This large military presence gives the town a more cosmopolitan populace than other nearby towns farther away from the base.

Daleville was the victim of an F1 Tornado on 24 November 2001, part of the Arkansas-Mississippi-Alabama tornado outbreak that occurred on 23 and 24 November of that year. Two restaurants and two industrial buildings were destroyed; a local lounge suffered severe damage, as well. Also damaged were maintenance buildings, one aircraft, 25 businesses, a church, gas station, two supermarkets, a bank and several homes. Twenty-five people inside the lounge were injured, but no fatalities were reported.


Daleville is located at 31°18′9″N 85°42′40″W﻿ / ﻿31.30250°N 85.71111°W﻿ / 31.30250; -85.71111 (31.302496, -85.711083)[2].

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.5 square miles (35 km2), all of it land. The Choctawhatchee River flows a few miles east of Daleville.

Daleville is the northern terminus of Alabama State Route 85, which runs south from the city to Geneva. This route intersects with U.S. Highway 84 on the south side of town. Alabama State Route 134 runs east from Daleville toward Newton; westbound 134 joins U.S. 84 to continue on to Enterprise.


As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 4,653 people, 1,980 households, and 1,245 families residing in the city. The population density was 344.5 people per square mile (133.0/km2). There were 2,541 housing units at an average density of 188.1 per square mile (72.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 64.20% White, 25.36% Black or African American, 0.75% Native American, 3.65% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 3.63% from two or more races. 3.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.



The median income for a household in the city was $34,473, and the median income for a family was $40,994. Males had a median income of $30,997 versus $21,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,761. About 11.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.


Daleville is governed by a mayor and a city council of five members. The mayor in 2012 is Claudia Wigglesworth.[4] The city is located in Alabama's Second Congressional District; its current Representative (as of 2012) is Martha Roby (R). The city is split between two state senate districts (29 and 31) and two state house districts (91 and 93).[5]

Utilities are provided through Alabama Power and the Pea River Co-op (Electricity), the city water department (water), Southeast Alabama Gas District (natural gas), CenturyLink (telephone/internet/video), Time Warner Cable (telephone/internet/video) and Troy Cable (telephone/internet/video).[4]

Daleville is protected by a full-time police department with seventeen officers, plus a volunteer fire department and rescue squad. The city also offers a community center,senior center, public library and convention center.


Daleville High School

Daleville is served by one elementary school, serving grades K through 6 Windham Elementary School;, and one high school, serving grades 7 through 12 Daleville High School. The high school's JROTC program has held the rating of "Honor Unit With Distinction", the highest possible unit ranking within the JROTC program, for the past 33 consecutive years (as of 2007). Its rifle team has won seventeen state championships and numerous local competitions.[6] The high school football team was the winner of the 1992 4A football championship,[7] and was runner-up in 1993.[8] In 1997, the high school basketball team reached the state's final four tournament.[8]

Daleville forms a self-contained school district, independent of the surrounding Dale County School District.

Former NFL Fullback and Pro Bowler Tony Richardson played his high school football at Daleville. Lettering in basketball, football and track, Richardson continued his career at Auburn University, going on to stardom with the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets before retiring in 2010. Shawn Stuckey, a linebacker for the New England Patriots in 1998, also played his high school football at Daleville.

Daleville High School's band has 130 members and broke their own record of students to make Honor Bands. The Daleville band had 15 students to make All-State and 37 students to make District Honor Band.

Notable residents[edit]


External links[edit]

Coordinates: 31°18′09″N 85°42′40″W﻿ / ﻿31.302496°N 85.711083°W﻿ / 31.302496; -85.711083