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Loachapoka, Alabama
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Loachapoka, Alabama
Loachapoka (/ˌloʊ.tʃəˈpoʊ.kə/ LOH-chə-POH-kə) is a town in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is located less than 1/2 mile west of Auburn and approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Auburn University, in west-central Lee County. The population was 180 as of the 2010 Census. It is part of the Auburn metropolitan area.
The name "Loachapoka" means "turtle killing place" in Muskogee, with locha meaning "turtle" and poga meaning "killing place". In literature, Lochapoka was the destination of the colonists in James H. Street's 1940 novel Oh, Promised Land.
Loachapoka is the location of the first Rosenwald School.
Loachapoka is governed by a mayor and five town council members. However, in the most recent municipal election (2016), no incumbents submitted the qualifying paperwork to run for re-election. Therefore, the only citizen that did qualify for the ballot became mayor-elect, as per state law, and this was confirmed by the AL Director of Elections. When the mayor-elect brought the issue to light, several town, county and state officials worked together in a poorly hatched plan to improperly disqualify the only candidate to follow the law for qualification, as referenced in several newspaper articles and audio recordings of town hall meetings. The corruption portrayed in this series of events reflects a pattern of politics in Alabama that has been commonplace for many years, as reported in the Harvard Political Review.
Loachapoka was a Creek Indian town for some decades prior to white settlement. In the last census prior to the Native removal to Oklahoma, Loachapoka was found to have a population of 564. During the Creek War of 1836, Loachapoka was a center of rebellion; the town was destroyed by a force of Alabama and Georgia militia and friendly Creeks on May 15, 1836. Upon settlement by Euro-Americans, Loachapoka—temporarily renamed Ball's Fork—became the regional trade center, a position that was reinforced in 1845 when it became the easternmost point on the railroad to Montgomery. Loachapoka's influence peaked in the early 1870s, when its population reached nearly 1,300. Within a few years, a collapse of trade due to the Panic of 1873 and additional rail lines in the area sent Loachapoka into economic decline. Loachapoka roughly stabilized as a small farming community by the mid-20th century, and by the early 2000s (decade) had become a small-town suburb of Auburn. The mayor of Loachapoka is Ricky Holder.
Loachapoka was home to two fall festivals, both held on the same day each fall—the annual Syrup Sopping Day [to the south of Highway 14] and the Lee County Historical Fair [at Pioneer Park, to the north of Highway 14.] Many fairgoers were not aware that they were actually attending two celebrations of area history. The Syrup Sop featured the making of syrup in traditional methods from sorghum and ribbon cane. The Historical Fair featured life in the 1850s in east central Alabama. The two festivals were combined into one named Pioneer Day. Combined, the two events attract more than 20,000 people to Loachapoka annually. Loachapoaka is the hometown of country music singer Freddie Hart.
The Lee County Historical Society Museum is located in an 1845 general store in the Loachapoka historic district, located at "Pioneer Park," a six and-a-half-acre park of nine buildings and five gardens reminiscent of the 1850s in east central Alabama.
Loachapoka is located at 32°36′17″N 85°35′49″W / 32.60472°N 85.59694°W (32.604844, -85.596890).
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Loachapoka, Alabama
Loachapoka (/ˌloʊ.tʃəˈpoʊ.kə/ LOH-chə-POH-kə) is a town in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is located less than 1/2 mile west of Auburn and approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Auburn University, in west-central Lee County. The population was 180 as of the 2010 Census. It is part of the Auburn metropolitan area.
The name "Loachapoka" means "turtle killing place" in Muskogee, with locha meaning "turtle" and poga meaning "killing place". In literature, Lochapoka was the destination of the colonists in James H. Street's 1940 novel Oh, Promised Land.
Loachapoka is the location of the first Rosenwald School.
Loachapoka is governed by a mayor and five town council members. However, in the most recent municipal election (2016), no incumbents submitted the qualifying paperwork to run for re-election. Therefore, the only citizen that did qualify for the ballot became mayor-elect, as per state law, and this was confirmed by the AL Director of Elections. When the mayor-elect brought the issue to light, several town, county and state officials worked together in a poorly hatched plan to improperly disqualify the only candidate to follow the law for qualification, as referenced in several newspaper articles and audio recordings of town hall meetings. The corruption portrayed in this series of events reflects a pattern of politics in Alabama that has been commonplace for many years, as reported in the Harvard Political Review.
Loachapoka was a Creek Indian town for some decades prior to white settlement. In the last census prior to the Native removal to Oklahoma, Loachapoka was found to have a population of 564. During the Creek War of 1836, Loachapoka was a center of rebellion; the town was destroyed by a force of Alabama and Georgia militia and friendly Creeks on May 15, 1836. Upon settlement by Euro-Americans, Loachapoka—temporarily renamed Ball's Fork—became the regional trade center, a position that was reinforced in 1845 when it became the easternmost point on the railroad to Montgomery. Loachapoka's influence peaked in the early 1870s, when its population reached nearly 1,300. Within a few years, a collapse of trade due to the Panic of 1873 and additional rail lines in the area sent Loachapoka into economic decline. Loachapoka roughly stabilized as a small farming community by the mid-20th century, and by the early 2000s (decade) had become a small-town suburb of Auburn. The mayor of Loachapoka is Ricky Holder.
Loachapoka was home to two fall festivals, both held on the same day each fall—the annual Syrup Sopping Day [to the south of Highway 14] and the Lee County Historical Fair [at Pioneer Park, to the north of Highway 14.] Many fairgoers were not aware that they were actually attending two celebrations of area history. The Syrup Sop featured the making of syrup in traditional methods from sorghum and ribbon cane. The Historical Fair featured life in the 1850s in east central Alabama. The two festivals were combined into one named Pioneer Day. Combined, the two events attract more than 20,000 people to Loachapoka annually. Loachapoaka is the hometown of country music singer Freddie Hart.
The Lee County Historical Society Museum is located in an 1845 general store in the Loachapoka historic district, located at "Pioneer Park," a six and-a-half-acre park of nine buildings and five gardens reminiscent of the 1850s in east central Alabama.
Loachapoka is located at 32°36′17″N 85°35′49″W / 32.60472°N 85.59694°W (32.604844, -85.596890).
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