Boaz, Alabama

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Boaz is a small city in northeast Alabama, located in Marshall and Etowah counties on Sand Mountain. It covers about 14.6 square miles and sits around 1,070 feet above sea level. As of 2020, about 10,100 people live in Boaz.

Boaz began in the 1850s and was officially founded on November 11, 1878, by the Sparks family of Georgia. It was named after Boaz from the Bible and incorporated as a city in 1897. The town started as a cotton community and later added livestock and poultry, especially after the boll weevil and the Great Depression. After World War II, Boaz developed a thriving auto sales industry.

In the 1980s, VF Corporation opened an outlet store in an old factory, which led others to follow. Boaz became famous for its outlets, with as many as about 130 stores and millions of visitors at its peak. The number of stores declined in the 1990s, and several outlet buildings were demolished in 2016.

Boaz is home to Snead State Community College. Several historic sites in Boaz are listed on state and national registers, including churches and old homes. The climate is humid subtropical, with hot summers, mild winters, and plenty of rainfall throughout the year.