Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Section Section, AL

Section is a town in Jackson County, Alabama, perched on top of Sand Mountain along the mountain's western edge, with views down to the Tennessee River valley.

The community was originally known as Mt. Zion, the name used when its first post office was established in 1875, and smaller settlements such as Kirby's Creek, Gossets Hollow, and Fern Cliff merged to form the town.

Section took its later name from the '16th Section,' the square-mile parcel of land the federal government required to be set aside in each township to support public schools.

Pioneer settlers arrived in large numbers in 1862, homesteading under rules that required five years of residence before claiming the land; an early water-powered flour and grist mill was operating by 1886 and the first store opened in 1889.

Section is cited as having incorporated in 1910, though the 1950 U.S. Census rolls listed its incorporation as 1946.

The 2020 census counted 756 residents in Section, almost unchanged from 770 in 2010 and 769 in 2000 — one of the most stable small-town populations in Jackson County.

The town covers about 4.6 square miles at an elevation of roughly 1,348 feet, where State Route 35 and State Route 71 intersect.

Weathington Park, in the northeast part of town, offers dramatic views of Lake Guntersville and the Tennessee River along with striking rock outcrops.

Section maintains a town park with an Olympic-sized swimming pool built in 1974, and the town holds an annual Labor Day Celebration with vendors, food, live music, and children's entertainment.

Section High School is a kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade school in the Jackson County school system; the school became a high school in 1955 under its first principal, Roy L. Buford.