Reform

History

Sparsely settled after statehood, Reform first received a post office in 1841. It wasn't incorporated until March 2, 1898, following the community getting train service via the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. According to tradition, the community was named from an incident when an evangelist paid the new settlement a visit, imploring the first settlers to "reform". On January 24, 1940, Reform set the record for the highest recorded snow depth for Alabama at . In May 1968, a mule train, part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference sponsored Poor People's Campaign, stopped for two days in Reform before heading to Tuscaloosa, Alabama on its way to Washington, DC. On August 31, 2017, the area was hit by an EF2 tornado. The tornado touched down near Reform and tracked through Pickens, Lamar, and Fayette counties. Significant damage was also caused in the nearby community of Palmetto.

Geography

The city is located in west central Alabama at the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and Alabama State Route 17. US 82 runs northwest to southeast through the city, leading southeast 8 mi (13 km) to Gordo and 31 mi (50 km) to Tuscaloosa, the largest city of over 100,000 people closest to the area. Columbus, Mississippi is 29 mi (47 km) to the northwest. AL 17 runs north to south, leading north 19 mi (31 km) to Millport and south 10 mi (16 km) to Carrollton, the Pickens County seat. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.37%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  148
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  133
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  100
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  97
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  89
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  88
• White-eyed Vireo

  Vireo griseus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  83
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  76

Most recent

• M 2.55 — 2020-10-15
  1 km W of Belk, Alabama
• M 2.87 — 2020-06-25
  4 km NNW of Berry, Alabama
• M 2.59 — 2019-04-23
  11 km WSW of Union, Alabama
• M 2.7 — 2017-02-17
  22 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.6 — 2017-02-17
  16 km S of Oakman, Alabama
• M 2.58 — 2016-09-05
  16 km W of Union, Alabama