Luverne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Crenshaw County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,765.
History
Luverne was one of numerous towns developed in the state as a result of railroad construction.
On July 2, 1880, the Montgomery and Southern Railway was created to construct a new railroad linking Montgomery to the Florida coast. The company completed around of narrow gauge track by September 18, 1882. The company was reorganized as the Montgomery and Florida Railway in May 1886, and a second time as the Northwest and Florida Railroad in 1888. In November 1888, the railroad reached the site of Luverne in the central part of Crenshaw County, near the Patsaliga River. Now totaling , the line was converted to standard gauge by July 1889, and it was decided to proceed no further. The Alabama Terminal and Improvement Company, a subsidiary of the Alabama Midland Railway, controlled the railroad by 1889, and the line from Montgomery to Luverne was into the network of the latter.
The new railroad terminus attracted related development, and the town grew. It was incorporated in 1891 and became a center of timbering in the Piney Woods of southern Alabama, as the land was not fertile enough for large-scale cotton plantation agriculture.
In 1893, the citizens of Crenshaw County voted to move the county seat from Rutledge to the more populous Luverne.
On June 22, 1940, an African-American man named Jesse Thornton was lynched in Luverne for failing to address a white man with the title of "Mister". He was fatally shot, and his body was later found in the Patsaliga River. The Equal Justice Initiative documented that the white man Thornton had offended by his Jim Crow infraction was a police officer. This was the only lynching recorded in the county.
Geography
Luverne is located at . The town of Rutledge lies along Luverne's western border.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.17%, is water.
Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification, Luverne has a humid subtropical climate (abbreviated Cfa).
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Luverne had a population of 2,765. The median age was 45.5 years. 20.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 80.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.0 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,184 households in Luverne, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.6% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The city had 634 families.
There were 1,346 housing units, of which 12.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.7%. of 2010, there were 2,800 people, 1,135 households, and 729 families living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 62.6% White, 29.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 5.5% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. 1.9% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 1,135 households, 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together (2.4% same-sex couples), 19.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 32.8% of households were one person, and 14.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35, and the average family size was 2.95.
The age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% 65 or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.
The median household income was $40,602, and the median family income was $51,500. Males had a median income of $43,464 versus $19,483 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,869. About 12.6% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,635 people, 1,107 households, and 710 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,249 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 70.25% White, 28.43% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.68% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.