Quality of Life

Housing

Housing consists primarily of single-family, owner-occupied homes. There is a large variety of housing available throughout the county in all price ranges from which to choose. There is also a variety of multi-family units and rentals available.

Healthcare

Grove Hill Memorial Hospital

County: Clarke
Licensed Beds: 50
Street Address: 295 S. Jackson St., Grove Hill
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 935, Grove Hill, 36451
Phone: (251) 275-3191

Jackson Medical Center

County: Clarke
Licensed Beds: 35
Street Address: 220 Hospital Dr., Jackson
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 428, Jackson, 36545
Phone: (251) 246-9021

Southwest Alabama Medical Center
(recently voted one of the Top 100 Hospitals in the U.S.)

County: Clarke
Licensed Beds: 49
Street/Mailing Address: 33700 Highway 43, Thomasville, 36784
Phone: (334) 636-4431

Outdoor Recreation

Clarke County abounds in wildlife. The hunting enthusiasts will soon find themselves in a sportsman's paradise. Outdoor recreational opportunities include camping facilities, fishing, and sanctuaries for the observation of wildlife in its natural habitat. Clarke County has two rivers, the Tombigbee River and the Alabama River, and seven boat landings to choose from for fishing and water sports. The rivers are filled with gaming fish including five types of bass, three types of catfish, white and black crappie, blue gill, shell cracker and stump knocker.

Scotch Management Area
 
The 20,000-acre Scotch Management Area is located off Highway 154 between Thomasville and Coffeeville. The Area hosts an abundance of wild game including deer, turkey, squirrel, quail, dove, raccoon, and possum. Trails are well marked for horseback riders, birdwatchers and ATV and biking enthusiasts, Non-hunting visitors must schedule visits outside of hunting seasons. Open year-round, the Area has two camping groups.

Lock One Island
 
The Lock One Island and Park is located off Highway 69, between Jackson and Coffeeville. It is open to the public for hunting. The 620- acre island is home to small game in addition to deer and turkey.

Upper State Game Sanctuary
 
The 1920-acre Upper State Game Sanctuary is located five miles north of Jackson on Highway 69. It has a high population of deer and turkey. The sanctuary wildlife has been photographed by National Geographic, ornithological societies and bird watcher enthusiasts.

Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge
 
The 4,218-acre Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge lies along the Tombigbee River. This rock river-bottom land with numerous lakes and sloughs is ideal waterfowl habitat. The refuge is open to sport fishing year-round, except in designated waterfowl sanctuaries. It features a boat ramp and is just up river from the Coffeeville Lock and Dam. Special days are set aside for hunting in the refuge.

Fred T. Stimpson Wildlife Sanctuary
 
Approximately 12 miles south of Jackson on County Road 15, the Fred T. Stimpson Wildlife Sanctuary boasts 5,500 acres full of protected wildlife. Roughly 275 to 300 deer are protected at all times, as well as a large wild turkey population. The Sanctuary is home to bobcat, coyote, fox, rabbit, dove, and quail. There is no hunting of any kind allowed. The habitat is frequented by wildlife photographers, hikers, and birdwatchers. College students from around the state visit the sanctuary for their studies.

Clarke County Museum

At the intersection of U.S. Highways 84W and 43 in Grove Hill stands the Clarke County Historical Museum, started in 1985 by the Clarke County Historical Society, which owns and operates the facility. The Museum house itself was built in 1854 by Lemuel Alston and is known as formerly the Alston-Cobb House.

With its pristine exterior, white picket fence, and ample lawn shaded by oaks, magnolias, and pecan trees, this plantation plain-style home invites passers-by to stop for a glimpse of the old South. Today it houses artifacts telling rich and unique history of this early Alabama County and its people including its 1850s exterior kitchen.

One of the most popular exhibits is the fossils of the Zeuglodon, a prehistoric whale that swam in the ocean waters that once covered the county. Many early settlers used fossilized whale vertebrae in the chimneys or foundations of the homes they constructed.

The museum also features exhibits on the Native Americans who once lived here, the Civil War, Clarke Countians who fought in the two World Wars, and the county's historic rural life. An antebellum kitchen is, of course, situated away from the main house, and it shows visitors how early housewives or their servants once went about the business of cooking and keeping house.
 
Traveling exhibits such as the Smithsonian exhibit Yesterday's Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future also come to the museum, and temporary exhibits have been set up to showcase Clarke County quilt makers, early steamboats that plowed the rivers on either side of the county; and Clarke County's sports heroes.