Valley Head

Valley Head is located in northeastern DeKalb County in the northeastern corner of the state. It has a mayor/city council form of government. Folk artist Howard Finster was born in Valley Head.

White settlers began arriving in the Valley Head area by the early nineteenth century; in 1837, the area warranted establishment of a post office. Early settler Col. Vance Larmore,

who was instrumental in getting the railroad (possibly the Wills Valley Railroad and later the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad) to come through Valley Head, making it a shipping center for the area. Sequoyah lived in the Valley Head area when he was working on his Cherokee syllabary. The town incorporated in 1922.

Valley Head's population according to the 2010 Census was 558. Of that number, 91.9 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 3.0 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 2.9 percent as two or more races, 1.8 percent as African American, 0.9 percent as Native American, and 0.2 percent as Asian. The town's median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $31,058, and the per capita income was $17,666.

According to 2010 Census estimates, the work force in Valley Head was divided among the following industrial categories:

· Manufacturing (42.5 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (16.3   percent)
· Construction (8.1 percent)
· Retail trade (8.1 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services   (8.1 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (7.2 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (4.5 percent)
· Public administration (3.6 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (1.4 percent)

Schools in Valley Head are part of the DeKalb County school system; the town has approximately 525 students and 39 teachers in one high school.

County Road 137 bisects Valley Head northeast-southwest. State Highway 117 northeast-northwest and connects the town with Interstate 59 to the west.

The Winston Place is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Council Bluff School, the J. C. Larmore Home, the V. C. Larmore Home, the Valley Head United Methodist Church, and the Winston Place are listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Sequoyah Caverns, named after the man who created the Cherokee syllabary, is located in Valley Head.

Additional Resources

DeKalb County Heritage Book Committee. Heritage of DeKalb County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1998.