Ohatchee

James P. Kaetz, Auburn University
Ohatchee is located in Calhoun County in the northeastern portion of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government. Cartoonist Tom Sims, who co-wrote the comic strip Popeye from 1938 to 1955, was born in Ohatchee.
History
Janney Furnace in Ohatchee
The area around Ohatchee reportedly was used by General Andrew Jackson as a staging area for the Battle of Talladega during the Creek War. During the Civil War, nearby Janney Furnace, built to produce pig iron for the Confederacy but never used, drew raiding Union Army troops under the command of Gen. Lovell Rousseau. Finding the furnaces unused, the soldiers left them largely untouched. Ohatchee was incorporated in 1956.
The town was struck by a tornado on April 27 during the so-called Super Outbreak of April 25-28, 2011, devastating the town and killing four people.
Demographics
According to 2020 Census estimates, Ohatchee recorded a population of 1,358. Of that number, 93.8 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 2.9 percent as African American, 2.4 percent as two or more races, 1.0 percent as Hispanic, and 0.8 percent as Native American. The town's median household income was $50,750, and the per capita income was $24,543.
Employment
According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Ohatchee was divided among the following industrial categories:
  • Educational services, and health care and social assistance (27.6 percent)
  • Retail trade (12.4 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and administrative and waste management services (11.8 percent)
  • Manufacturing (11.4 percent)
  • Public administration (8.9 percent)
  • Transportation, warehousing, and utilities (7.9 percent)
  • Construction (6.6 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (6.0 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing (2.7 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (2.3 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (1.9 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation and accommodation and food services (0.4 percent)
Education
Public education in Ohatchee is overseen by the Calhoun County Schools; there is one elementary school and one high school in the town.
Transportation
Ohatchee is bisected by State Highway 144, which runs east-west through the center of the town; State Highway 77 runs north-south along its western edge.
Events and Places of Interest
Ohatchee Confederate Memorial
Janney Furnace is preserved as a museum and park and is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. It was established in 1863 to produce pig iron for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The site includes a memorial to men from Calhoun County who lost their lives while serving in the Confederate military as well as museums dedicated to the area's Native American and Civil War history. The park hosts re-enactments and a Native American festival each year and offers educational programming. The site of Fort Strother is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Additional Resources

Calhoun County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of Calhoun County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants Inc., 1998.
Published:  December 11, 2012   |   Last updated:  June 23, 2022