Choccolocco, Alabama
Census-designated place & Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Choccolocco is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Calhoun County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2020 census, Choccolocco had a population of 2,838.[4] It was founded in 1832.
Choccolocco, Alabama | |
|---|---|
Location of Choccolocco in Calhoun County, Alabama. | |
| Coordinates: 33°40′06″N 85°42′46″W[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| County | Calhoun |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.78 sq mi (30.52 km2) |
| • Land | 11.64 sq mi (30.16 km2) |
| • Water | 0.14 sq mi (0.35 km2) |
| Elevation | 712 ft (217 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,838 |
| • Density | 243.7/sq mi (94.09/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 36207[3] |
| Area codes | 256 & 938 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2582668[1] |
The name Choccolocco is an anglicization of the Creek words "chahko lago" ("big shoals") or "choko rakko" ("big house"); sources vary.[5][6]
The community gained brief notoriety in 2001 when The Daily Show aired a piece on the "Choccolocco Monster",[7] a part of local folklore concerning sightings of a mysterious creature in the area in the late 1960s. An October 2001 article in the Anniston Star newspaper revealed that the creature was, in fact, local resident Neal Williamson. As a teenager, Williamson would don his costume (consisting of a cow skull and a sheet) and gain the attention of passing cars by jumping out of the woods onto the roadside, often startling motorists.[8]
Demographics
Choccolocco first appeared on the 1890 U.S. Census as a town, but did not appear again until 2010 when it was listed as a census-designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.[10]
Racial and ethnic composition
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2010[11] | Pop 2020[12] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 2,412 | 2,405 | 86.02% | 84.74% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 200 | 203 | 7.13% | 7.15% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 9 | 9 | 0.32% | 0.32% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 21 | 28 | 0.75% | 0.99% |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 1 | 2 | 0.04% | 0.07% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 40 | 88 | 1.43% | 3.10% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 121 | 103 | 4.32% | 3.63% |
| Total | 2,804 | 2,838 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Choccolocco had a population of 2,838.[13] The median age was 40.6 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18, and 16.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.5 males age 18 and over.[14]
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[15]
There were 1,060 households in Choccolocco, of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 64.8% were married-couple households, 12.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[14]
There were 1,120 housing units, of which 5.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8%, and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.[14]
