DeKalb County community officially becomes a city

KILPATRICK, Ala. (WHNT) – Most of Alabama’s cities and towns date back hundreds of years. So when we learned that a new city in DeKalb County was going to be founded in 2025, we had to stop by.

Tuesday evening, the Town of Kilpatrick held its first-ever town meeting and swore in its first mayor and first city council members. Richard Bruce was the first mayor and Rachel Bloodworth, Kim Hunt, Fernando Guzman and Tina Malone were the first council members.

The town of Kilpatrick is in DeKalb County, near Crossville and Albertville.

The community of about 300 residents voted in March 2025 to become an incorporated town. Mayor Bruce said this process has been in the works for several years.

“We actually started this process about six years ago,” Bruce said. “We started with petitions and we went around to people to sign and say they wanted to be a city.”

According to the Alabama League of Municipalities, Kilpatrick is now the 466th municipality in the state of Alabama.

“This is a very rare event, and it has been several years since the last new city was established,” said Alabama State Senator Andrew Jones. “It’s just exciting to be a part of something, to see them write their founding documents right before your eyes.”

Jones was one of dozens of people in attendance at the first town meeting, held at the new Kilpatrick Town Hall, located at 27 County Road 179.

Community members at the meeting had several questions about the newly formed city, including the city limits.

Bruce told the community they are still working on creating a map showing the city limits. However, he indicated that they would have a map by the next city council.

The community includes several roads off Highway 68.

Mayor Bruce told News 19 the city is still in the process of creating a website and Facebook page.

He said that while Kilpatrick has its own fire department, it does not have a police department. Bruce said the city will continue to rely on the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement.

The new mayor said he is excited about what lies ahead for the new town of Kilpatrick.

“It’s great to see our little town come together and we look forward to big things in Kilpatrick,” he said.

The second City of Kilpatrick City Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 12 at 6:30 p.m. While city meetings will typically be held on Tuesday evenings, this meeting will be held on a Wednesday due to Veterans Day.