Point Clear, Alabama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Point Clear, Alabama
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Point Clear, Alabama Post Office
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Location in Baldwin County and the state of Alabama
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| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| County | Baldwin |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.63 sq mi (11.99 km2) |
| • Land | 4.59 sq mi (11.89 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 2,076 |
| • Density | 452.09/sq mi (174.54/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
36564
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| Area code(s) | 251 |
| FIPS code | 01-61488 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0155211 |
Point Clear is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,125. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area.
Geography
Point Clear is located at 30°29'48.505" North, 87°54'35.489" West (30.496807, -87.909858).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14 km2), of which 5.5 square miles (14 km2) is land and 0.43% is water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 49 | — | |
| 1980 | 1,812 | — | |
| 1990 | 2,125 | 17.3% | |
| 2000 | 1,876 | −11.7% | |
| 2010 | 2,125 | 13.3% | |
| 2020 | 2,076 | −2.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,356 | 65.32% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 607 | 29.24% |
| Asian | 7 | 0.34% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 58 | 2.79% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 47 | 2.26% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,076 people, 793 households, and 639 families residing in the CDP.
Point Clear in World War II
In 1944, Point Clear's Grand Hotel served as the base of operations for Operation Ivory Soap in World War II. In the Pacific Theater, the United States utilized the Leapfrogging (strategy) as a means of capturing islands held by the Japanese that were of strategic or tactical advantage. The commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps, Henry "Hap" Arnold, understood the American planes needed mobile air depots to support their efforts in the Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Thompson, oversaw Operation Ivory Soap from a suite in the Grand Hotel. The nineteenth-century Alabama hotel housed soldiers and served as a maritime training facility training troops in skills including swimming, special calisthenics, marching, drill, navigation, ship identification, signaling, cargo handling, ship orientation, sail making and amphibious operations. The school produced 5,000 trained Army seamen who took part in operations in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Guam. The training these troops received thanks to Operation Ivory Soap allowed the soldiers to help save countless lives and aircraft. The name "Ivory Soap," according to Col. Thompson, was derived from the fact that, like the experimental Aircraft Repair Units the military wanted to deploy, Ivory soap floats. The Grand Hotel is still in operation on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay today.
Other
From as early as the 1800s, wealthy families from Mobile, New Orleans and across the United States chose to spend their summers in Point Clear. In the days of yellow fever outbreaks, Pt. Clear residents believed they were escaping to what was deemed as "good air" because of the daily breeze off Mobile Bay. Arrival to the area was traditionally by ferry boat and most people arrived in Pt. Clear at Zundel's Wharf. Because of this, the front of the homes (sometimes referred to as cottages) face Mobile Bay and there is a boardwalk between the water and the homes leading to and from Zundel's Wharf. Remnants of the old pier at the Zundel property were still visible prior to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
See also
In Spanish: Point Clear (Alabama) para niños
