Talladega (, also ) is a city in and the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state's largest cities, Birmingham.

The city is home to the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, Talladega Municipal Airport, and Talladega College, a historically black college. The Talladega Superspeedway, and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame are located nearby. The First National Bank of Talladega (now First Bank of Alabama) is the oldest bank in the State of Alabama, being founded in 1848.

Etymology

The name Talladega is derived from the Muscogee language, a Native American language of the Muscogee. It comes from the word Tvlvtēke, from Muscogee tvlwv, meaning "town", and vtēke, meaning "border", indicating its location on the border between Muscogee and Natchez.

Geography

Talladega is located in east central Alabama. Alabama State Routes 21, 77, and 275 are the main routes through the city. AL-77 runs through the downtown area from north to south, leading north 14 mi (23 km) to Lincoln along Interstate 20 and southeast 24 mi (39 km) to Ashland. AL-21 runs from southwest to northeast through the city, leading northeast 23 mi (37 km) to Oxford and southwest 21 mi (34 km) to Sylacauga. AL-275 runs to the north and west of the city as a bypass of the downtown area.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.30%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Talladega has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

The data below were accessed via the WRCC. They were compiled over the time period from 1888 to when this chart was created (July 2018).

Talladega's record high of 109 °F (42.8 °C) occurred in September 1925 (Alabama's record high of 112 °F was recorded in Centreville that same month), July 1930, June 1931, and July 1933. The record low of -10 °F (-23.3 °C) occurred in February 1899.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Talladega had a population of 15,861, with 5,717 households and 3,334 families residing in the city.

The median age was 38.4 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.0 males age 18 and over.

Of Talladega households, 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.9% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The main listed historic districts are the Silk Stocking District, which includes the Dr. Samuel Welch House, Talladega College Historic District, and Talladega Courthouse Square Historic District. Also included is the Talladega Superspeedway, which is a race track. It hosts two NASCAR races annually. In 2020, the Dr. William R. Harvey Museum of Art opened at Talladega College.

Education

Talladega City Schools is the local school district with three elementary schools and one high school in the city.

Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, the statewide boarding school for the blind and deaf, is in Talladega, being established as an educational institution in 1858.

Talladega also features the historic Talladega College and the Talladega branch of the Central Alabama Community College.

Notable people

  • Steadham Acker, pioneer aviator
  • Robert Emmett Bledsoe Baylor, former U.S. Congressman for the 2nd District of Alabama
  • Tom Bleick, former NFL player, who played college football at Georgia Tech
  • The original members of the gospel group The Blind Boys of Alabama met in Talladega at the Alabama School for the Blind
  • Sydney J. Bowie, former U.S. Representative and nephew of Franklin Welsh Bowdon
  • Taul Bradford, former U.S. Representative
  • Robert Bradley attended school in Talladega at the Alabama School for the Blind.
  • William W. Brandon, Governor of Alabama from 1923 to 1927
  • Charles Brown, actor and member of the Negro Ensemble Company
  • Ethlyne Clair, actress
  • George Cruikshank, educator, newspaper editor, and historian
  • Marcus Henderson Cruikshank, former member of the Confederate States Congress and Mayor of Talladega
  • Lee de Forest spent most of his early life in Talladega.
  • Scottie McKenzie Frasier, teacher, author, newspaper editor, lecturer, socialite, and suffragist
  • Ahmad Gooden, NFL football player
  • Tinsley R. Harrison, founding editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine
  • Bob Jenkins, football halfback
  • Eddie King, blues musician
  • Herman H. Long, former president of Talladega College and former president of the United Negro College Fund
  • Lamar Looney, Oklahoma state senator
  • Lena B. Mathes, educator, social reformer, ordained minister
  • Felix Grundy McConnell, former U.S. Representative
  • Gertrude Michael, film, stage and television actress.
  • Jack Nelson, Washington correspondent and bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, was born in Talladega
  • Dixie Parsons, former Major League Baseball player
  • Lewis E. Parsons, Governor of Alabama from June to December 1865
  • Charles Pelham, former U.S. Congressman for the 3rd District of Alabama
  • George Paris Plowman, member of the Alabama Legislature and Mayor of Talladega
  • Thomas S. Plowman, former U.S. Representative and Mayor of Talladega
  • Dave Pope, former Major League Baseball outfielder
  • Tom Ragland, former Major League Baseball second baseman
  • George Scales, Negro league baseball player
  • Frank Sillmon, former basketball player
  • Charles Lynwood Smith Jr., senior United States federal judge
  • Bennie Swain, former basketball player for the Boston Celtics
  • W. Aubrey Thomas, U.S. Representative from Ohio
  • Robert Smith Vance was born in Talladega in 1931. Federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

<gallery class="center">

File:TalladegaSuperspeedway2.jpg|Aerial photo of Talladega Superspeedway in 2007

File:Talladega County Alabama Courthouse.JPG|The Talladega County Courthouse is located in Talladega.

File:Talladega College Savery Library.JPG|Savery Library on the campus of Talladega College, which is Alabama's oldest private historically black college.

File:Swayne Hall Talladega.jpg|Built in 1857, and eventually named for General Wager Swayne, Swayne Hall is the oldest building on the campus of Talladega College. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1974.

File:Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.JPG|The Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind is a school for people with blindness and/or deafness located in Talladega.

File:Curry Home.jpg|The J. L. M. Curry House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

File:Browne Elliott Mansion, c.1912, pic1.jpg|Talladega is home to the famous Silk Stocking District. The neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 13, 1979.

File:Boxwood Talladega Alabama.JPG|Boxwood was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 9, 1983.

File:First Presbyterian Church Talladega Alabama.JPG|The First Presbyterian church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1983.

File:Orange Vale (Lawler House).jpg|The Lawler-Whiting House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1986.

File:Idlewild Talladega Alabama USA.jpeg|The Idlewild Plantation House was built in 1843, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1993.

File:Thornhill, State Road 21, Talladega vicinity (Talladega County, Alabama).jpg|Thornhill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 20, 1998.

File:First United Methodist c.1921.jpg|The First United Methodist Church was built in 1921.

File:Battle of Talladega Historic Marker.JPG|A historic marker commemorating General Andrew Jackson's victory over the Red Sticks at the Battle of Talladega during the Creek War.

File:USS Talladega Memorial.JPG|A monument to the accomplishments of the USS Talladega stands in the Talladega Historic Courthouse Square.

File:Group of doffers working Cotton Factory posed by the supt. of the factory. The smallest boy told me he had worked... - NARA - 523358.jpg|A group of doffers working in Cotton Factory posed by the superintendent of the factory. November 1910. Photographed by Lewis Hine.

</gallery>

References

  • City of Talladega official website
  • Talladega in the Encyclopedia of Alabama