Needham Alabama

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Needham Alabama

 

Wilson's Grist Mill In Needham Alabama. Photo courtesy of Billy Milstead; Rural Southwest Alabama
Wilson’s Grist Mill In Needham Alabama. Photo courtesy of Billy Milstead; Rural Southwest Alabama

Needham is a town in Choctaw County, Alabama, in the southwestern part of the state near the Alabama and Mississippi border. It incorporated in 1981. At the 2010 census, the population was 94.

Wilson’s Grist Mill was the center of life in Needham for decades during the early 1900s. The Saturday trip to town to have corn ground into meal was more than just the task of obtaining food for the family for the next week. Wilson’s grist mill was the social center of the town with news, opinions, and even the gossip of Needham and the surrounding area. 

Needham Alabama History

The railroad and depot in the area now known as Needham was originally called Bogueloosa, like the creek that runs through the town. When the first post office was established in the area in 1905, the Federal Board of Communications would not allow it to be called Bogueloosa because of a town in Louisiana with a similar name.
The earliest representation of the town on a map is from La Tourette’s 1844 map of Alabama.

Needham Alabama Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 97 people, 39 households, and 32 families residing in the town. The population density was 169.4 people per square mile. There were 46 housing units at an average density of 80.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White.

Needham Alabama Places of Interest

Needham sponsors a Fall Festival the third weekend in November at Broadhead Memorial Park on County Highway 18. The park features a one-mile walk on Bogueloosa Creek, a dog-trot cabin, the Wilson grist mill, and other exhibits. The festival has basket weaving demonstrations, a tour of the cabin, food and craft vendors, local singers, and a demonstration of cane-syrup making.

Needham Fall Festival

Held the third Saturday of November of each year, the Needham Fall Festival is gathering of friends and family, young and old. Visitors can enjoy the Broadhead Memorial Park with his shaded walking trail that meanders along the Bogueloosa Creek, visit the Grist Mill and Dog Trot Cabin, shop with vendors and watch the making of cane syrup. For more information about this event, contact 205-673-3088.