Hayden

Hayden is located in southwestern Blount County in the north-central part of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government. There is a county courthouse annex located in Hayden.

Settlers in the area may have arrived as early as the 1820s. Hayden was first called Rockland, possibly for the rocky nature of the soil. The name was changed to Hayden in 1914 for an early settler in the area who was a former prominent Army officer when the Louisville & Nashville Railroad came through town. The earliest school in Hayden was a one-room log building. As the town grew, school construction matched its pace, first with a two-room building (one room on each floor) and then a four-room building. In the 1920s, the town established a large, 12-grade school. The town was incorporated in May 1949.

According to 2020 Census estimates, Hayden recorded a population of 1,516. Of that number, 96.0 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 2.4 percent as African American, 2.3 percent as American Indian, 0.9 percent Hispanic, 0.9 percent as two or more races, and 0.4 percent as Asian. The town's median household income was $67,386, and the per capita income was $27,280.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Hayden was divided among the following industrial categories:

Schools in Hayden are part of the Blount County school system; the town has one primary school, one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school.

State Route 160 bisects Hayden running northeast-southwest, and County Highway 7 runs northwest from town. CSX Transportation, Inc. operates a rail line through Hayden.

Rickwood Caverns State Park is located just west of Hayden. West Blount Park offers youth sports, including baseball, football, softball, and basketball.

Additional Resources

Blount County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Blount County, Alabama Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 1999.