Tuscumbia is a city in, and the county seat of, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,054. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area.

Tuscumbia was the hometown of Helen Keller, who lived at Ivy Green. Several sites in the city are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, especially in the Tuscumbia Historic District. The city is also the site of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

History

When the Michael Dixon family arrived about 1816, they were the first European Americans to settle here. It was traditional territory of the Chickasaw people. The settlers traded with Chief Tucumseh for the Tuscumbia Valley and built their home at the head of the big spring. Other settlers joined them and there developed a village known as the Big Spring Community. The men of the community requested that the state legislature incorporate them as a city. The town was incorporated in 1820 as Ococoposa, a Chickasaw word meaning 'dry watermelon'. It is one of Alabama's oldest towns. In 1821, its name was changed to Big Spring and on December 22, 1822, to Tuscumbia, after the Chief Rainmaker of the Chickasaw.

Although shoals on the nearby Tennessee River made the river nearly impassable, a federal road completed in 1820 provided the area with good access to markets. Tuscumbia soon became the center for agriculture in northern Alabama. A line to the town on the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad was completed in 1832, and by 1850 Tuscumbia was a major railroad hub for train traffic throughout the South.

From 1826 to the 1860s, the Tuscumbia Female Academy operated in Tuscumbia. It was one of a number of private schools founded by planters and others wealthy enough to pay for the education of their sons and daughters. A public city school system was not established until 1855.

During the Civil War, the railroad hub made Tuscumbia a target of the Union Army, which destroyed the railroad shops and other parts of the town. The Civil War resulted in the permanent closure of the Tuscumbia Female Academy.

Tuscumbia was designated as the county seat for Colbert County in 1867.

A tornado, estimated at F4 intensity on the Fujita scale, struck Tuscumbia on November 22, 1874, damaging or destroying about a third of the town and killing 14 people.

In April 1894, three African Americans accused of planning to commit arson were taken from the Tuscumbia jail by a mob of 200 men and lynched, hanged from the bridge over the Tennessee River. The turn of the century period was the nadir of race relations in the South, with frequent violence by whites against African Americans to maintain white supremacy.

21st century

The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic resulted in the temporary closure of two tourist destinations: The Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Ivy Green at the beginning of the month of April 2020 to reduce social contact and help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Geography

Tuscumbia is located northeast of the center of Colbert County at 34°43′51″N 87°42′10″W / 34.73083°N 87.70278°W / 34.73083; -87.70278 (34.730839, -87.702854). It is bordered to the north by the city of Sheffield and to the northeast by the city of Muscle Shoals. The Tennessee River is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.8 km), of which 8.8 square miles (22.7 km) is land and 0.039 square miles (0.1 km), or 0.50%, is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Tuscumbia has a humid subtropical climate (abbreviated Cfa).

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	1,214		—
1880	1,369		12.8%
1890	2,491		82.0%
1900	2,348		−5.7%
1910	3,324		41.6%
1920	3,855		16.0%
1930	4,533		17.6%
1940	5,515		21.7%
1950	6,734		22.1%
1960	8,994		33.6%
1970	8,828		−1.8%
1980	9,137		3.5%
1990	8,413		−7.9%
2000	7,856		−6.6%
2010	8,423		7.2%
2020	9,054		7.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Tuscumbia racial composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	6,375	70.41%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	1,991	21.99%
Native American	28	0.31%
Asian	16	0.18%
Other/Mixed	416	4.59%
Hispanic or Latino	228	2.52%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,054 people, 3,304 households, and 2,207 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,423 people, 3,704 households, and 2,279 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,076.3 inhabitants per square mile (415.6/km). There were 4,120 housing units at an average density of 520.7 per square mile (201.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 75.91% White, 21.16% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,704 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.64% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 30.15% from 25 to 44, 19.50% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,793, and the median income for a family was $39,831. Males had a median income of $32,159 versus $18,860 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,302. About 11.1% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 19.92% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Tuscumbia City Schools and the Colbert County Board of Education provide public education for Tuscumbia. The following public schools are located in Tuscumbia:

• Deshler Area Vocational Center (grades 9 through 12)
• Deshler High School (grades 9 through 12)
• Colbert Heights High School (grades 7 through 12)
• Deshler Middle School (grades 6 through 8)
• Colbert Heights Elementary School (grades K through 6)
• New Bethel Elementary (grades K through 6)
• R. E. Thompson Intermediate School (grades 3 through 5)
• G. W. Trenholm Primary School (grades K through 2)

Private schools in Tuscumbia include Covenant Christian School (grades K through 12).

Media

Radio stations:

• WVNA 1590 AM (News/Talk)
• WZZA 1410 AM (Urban contemporary)

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 43
• U.S. Highway 72

Notable people

• Cynthia Bailey, model, actress, entrepreneur, and cast member of The Real Housewives of Atlanta
• Beverly Barton, novelist
• Deion Belue, American football cornerback
• Archibald Hill Carmichael, politician and U.S. Representative from 1933 to 1937
• Mike Cooley, guitarist for the alt-country/rock band Drive-By Truckers
• James Deshler, Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War
• Al Gamble, session musician
• Howell Thomas Heflin, U.S. senator from Alabama (1979–97), Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice (1971–77)
• Richard H. Jackson, former four-star admiral in the United States Navy
• Helen Keller, deafblind author, activist, lecturer, and socialist
• Robert B. Lindsay, 22nd Governor of Alabama
• Frank Manush, former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Philadelphia Athletics
• Heinie Manush, professional baseball player, elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jimmy Orr, former National Football League wide receiver
• Margaret Pellegrini, played one of the Munchkins in the movie The Wizard of Oz
• Billy Pettinger, songwriter, painter and author
• Will Reynolds, mass murderer
• William Henry Sawtelle, United States federal judge from 1931 to 1934
• William H. Steele, member of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
• Larry Stutts, State Senator whose patient's death inspired "Rose's Law"
• Bubba Underwood, mayor of Tuscumbia and member of the Alabama House of Representatives
• Wilson D. Watson, United States Marine Corps private who received the Medal of Honor for his actions on Iwo Jima during World War II