LEIGHTON

About

LEIGHTON, ALABAMA

Welcome To The Town of Leighton, Alabama

Leighton is a town in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals".

The first settlers in what is now Leighton arrived in the early 1810s. The community was initially known as "Crossroads" for its location at the intersection of two early-stage coach roads. The name was later changed to "Leighton" in 1824 for the town's first postmaster, the Reverend William Leigh.

The town developed as a cotton shipping center in the 1830s after the Tuscumbia, Courtland, and Decatur Railroad constructed a railroad line through the area. Leighton incorporated in 1890.

Like all of the South, Leighton saw the horrors of slavery and its aftermath. We moved through the struggles of the Civil Rights movement. Now, Leighton has moved forward by embracing and celebrating our differences, while acknowledging our past.

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We pride ourselves on our sense of community and our passion for helping each other.

800 +

Total Residents

40.1 Yrs.

Median Resident Age

2.16 sq.mi

349.50/sq mi

Land Area

Density Per Sq.ft.

The Town of Leighton has a rich history of agriculture, music, arts, and competitive sports. We are the hometown of Percy Sledge and Jimmy Hughes, both major contributors to American music history and the Muscle Shoals Sound.

In sports, we are proud to say that Ozzie Newsome, Ed West Jr., Leon Douglas, and John Douglas are all from Leighton. Other notable people from our town include blues guitarist Lefty Bates, political groundbreakers Renita Jimmar and Emmitt Jimmar, music business innovator Robert Carl Bailey, and botanist Thomas Minott Hughes.

Crouch-Percy-Sledge-Pop-Miracle.jpg-2.we

percy-sledge-portrait-1955-billboard-650

Photo Credit: Photograph by James J. Kriegsmann

Percy Sledge - 11/25/40 -4/14/15

Photo Credit: Photograph by Michael Ochs/Getty

Within the Shoals area, Leighton maintains a unique identity that includes a vibrant art scene, multicultural appreciation and co-operation, a state-of-the-art history museum, active farming, great local food, and a classic southern main street.

Leighton is truly the crossroads of the Shoals, where history meets the possibilities tomorrow.

Mayor Silcox's
Three Strategies for Leighton, AL

Leighton works with NACOLG through their community development department to find funding resources for drainage infrastructure, downtown revitalization, housing rehabilitation, and other projects.

FUNDING PARTNERSHIP FOR TRAININGS

We've partnered with the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, SEDA, NACOLG, Small Business Development Center, Colbert County Commission and others to create a comprehensive plan to move our town forward.