The first, and as of 2003, only known modern case of a human being hit by a space rock occurred on November 30, 1954 in Sylacauga. That day an 8.5 pound sulfide meteorite crashed through a roof and hit a Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges in her living room after it bounced off her radio. Other than a nasty bruise she was OK.
Geography
Sylacauga is located at 33°10'42" North, 86°15'4" West (33.178360, -86.251068)1.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.3 km² (18.6 mi²). 48.0 km² (18.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.59% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 12,616 people, 5,215 households, and 3,421 families residing in the city. The population density is 262.9/km² (681.0/mi²). There are 5,748 housing units at an average density of 119.8/km² (310.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 69.17% White, 28.91% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 5,215 households out of which 30.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% are married couples living together, 16.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% are non-families. 31.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 3.00.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 77.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $29,533, and the median income for a family is $40,275. Males have a median income of $32,092 versus $21,990 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,209. 21.3% of the population and 16.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 33.6% are under the age of 18 and 16.7% are 65 or older.