Cusseta

James P. Kaetz, Auburn University
Cusseta is located in southeast Chambers County in the east-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government. Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett (1850-1908), the sheriff who shot infamous outlaw Billy the Kid, was born near Cusseta.
History
Fort Cusseta
Cusseta is located near the site of a Creek town of the same name. The current town of Cusseta developed along the Montgomery and West Point Railroad line after the Creeks were forced from their land in the early 1830s. The town was first known as Blackstone after a man named Black who had built a trading post in the area. The first post office was established in 1837, as was an all-male school, Cusseta Academy. A girls' academy opened in 1849 but closed in 1863. Cusseta Academy was burned by a Union raiding party led by Gen. James H. Wilson during the Civil War, as was the train depot and the train tracks. Cusseta was first incorporated in 1853, but that incorporation lapsed. The town reincorporated in 2007.
Demographics
According to 2016 Census estimates, Cusseta recorded a population of 126. Of that number, 99.2 percent of respondents identified themselves as white and 0.8 percent as Asian. The town's median household income was $36,389, and the per capita income was $20,170.
Employment
According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Cusseta was divided among the following industrial categories:
  • Construction (23.9 percent)
  • Educational services, and health care and social assistance (21.7 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (19.6 percent)
  • Manufacturing (17.4 percent)
  • Retail trade (6.5 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (4.3 percent)
  • Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (4.3 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (2.2 percent)
Education
Students in Cusseta attend Chambers County schools; no public schools are located within the town limits.
Transportation
Cusseta lies at the crossroads of County Road 83, which runs north-south, and County Road 389, which runs east-west and connects with Interstate 85 approximately four miles southeast of town. CSX Transportation Inc. runs a rail line through the town.
Events and Places of Interest
Fort Cusseta Historic Site, located just outside Cusseta, houses the remains of a log fort built by settlers in the mid-1830s during the period of Indian removal. Portions of the fort's massive walls still remain.

Additional Resources

Chambers County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Chambers County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1999
Published:  November 21, 2013   |   Last updated:  February 13, 2019