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Clanton, Alabama

Clanton, Alabama
City
Clanton City Hall
Clanton City Hall
Motto: "A good place to visit...a better place to live!"
Location in Chilton County and the state of Alabama
Location in Chilton County and the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 32°50′23″N 86°37′41″W / 32.83972°N 86.62806°W / 32.83972; -86.62806
Country United States
State Alabama
County Chilton
Founded 1866
Incorporated April 23, 1873
Named for General James H. Clanton
Government
 • Type Council/Mayor
 • Mayor Billie JoeDriver
Area
 • Total 22.1 sq mi (57.2 km2)
 • Land 21.9 sq mi (56.8 km2)
 • Water 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km2)
Elevation 600 ft (183 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,619
 • Density 393/sq mi (151.7/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 35045-35046
Area code(s) 205
FIPS code 01-15136
GNIS feature ID 0157918
Website www.clanton.al.us

Clanton is a city in Chilton County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. At the 2010 census the population was 8,619. The city is the county seat of Chilton County. Clanton is the site of the geographic center of the U.S state of Alabama.

The town was founded by Alfred Baker in 1868, when Chilton County was formed. Clanton was named in honor of General James H. Clanton, a brigadier in the Confederate States Army, and was incorporated on April 23, 1873. Baker was also elected first mayor of the town. Nearby Lay Lake Dam and Mitchell Dam became Alabama Power's first two dams in the state, bringing economic improvements to the area. Immigrants played a part in starting the county's peach industry more than a century ago. Today, the peach industry is the number one industry in Chilton County, not only bringing fame to the county, but also millions of dollars to the local economy. The city of Clanton constructed a water tower in the form of a peach in 1993, becoming a landmark for travelers along Interstate 65.

Early civil rights activist Ida B. Wells reproduced a photographic postcard depicting an 1891 lynching in Clanton to educate the white public of the atrocities committed against blacks.

During World War II, a small German prisoner of war camp was located in Clanton.

Clanton is located southeast of the center of Chilton County at 32°50'23.316" North, 86°37'41.477" West (32.839810, -86.628188). Clanton, Alabama, in Chilton county, is 37 miles NW of Montgomery, Alabama (center to center) and 144 miles SW of Atlanta, Georgia.


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