Dale County · Alabama · Est. 1906
Ariton, Alabama
Two rival railroad towns shook hands in 1905 and built one hometown between them. Welcome to Ariton.
Hero photo slot — currently an illustration of the water tower over Main Street; the town's new hero photo will drop in here
662
Residents (2020 census)
5.09 sq mi
Town area, all land
April 1906
Incorporated
36311
ZIP · Area code 334
Ariton Weather
National Weather ServiceLoading the latest forecast…
Purple Cats Spotlight
Season record: 7–3
Last game · Fri, Oct 23 — Ariton 17, Geneva County 0, at home (region game; a shutout win that closed the regular season)
Next game · Fri, Nov 6 · 7:00 PM — AHSAA state playoffs, first round; opponent to be announced
Scores & schedule via MaxPreps · Updated Oct 24, 2026
What's Happening
Town notices and the next community events
Town News · Oct 20, 2026
Welcome to the new Town of Ariton website (preview)
This preview shows the design the town is considering: look up and pay a water bill, report a problem, sign up for town alerts, and find town records — all in English and Spanish. Nothing submitted here is saved yet.
Public Notice · Oct 15, 2026
Public Notice: Hearing on Proposed Zoning Ordinance — Tuesday, November 10, 2026
The Town Council of the Town of Ariton will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 6:00 PM Central Time in the Ariton Town Hall council chambers, Ariton, Alabama 36311. The Council will consider the formal adoption of Ariton's first comprehensive municipal zoning ordinance and official zoning map, covering all real property within the corporate city limits. Ariton is currently unzoned (No Zoning, NZ). A copy of the proposed ordinance and zoning maps is available for public inspection at Ariton Town Hall during regular business hours before the hearing. All citizens and interested parties may be heard in favor of or in opposition at the hearing. Written comments may also be submitted to the Town Clerk by mail at P.O. Box 53, Ariton, AL 36311, or by email at townofariton1906@gmail.com, provided they are received at least twenty-four (24) hours before the hearing. Posted by order of the Town Council — Daniele Littlefield, Town Clerk. Date of posting: October 15, 2026.
Coming up · Nov 7 · 9:00 AM
Community Fall Cleanup Day (Demo)
Town Hall, 6 E Main St
About Our Town
Ariton sits in northwestern Dale County, where Alabama Highways 51 and 123 meet as Main Street. Ozark, the county seat, is about 12 miles southeast; Clio is 11 miles northeast.
The town is home to Ariton School, a PreK–12 campus on Creel Richardson Road, and is known around Dale County for its annual Christmas tractor parade — decorated tractors rolling down Main Street each December.
Town government is a mayor–council form. Mayor Ben Key and five council members meet monthly at Town Hall, 6 East Main Street.
Go Purple Cats! You're viewing the site in Ariton School colors — deep purple and gold. Ariton's Purple Cats are, as far as anyone can find, the only Purple Cats in U.S. high school sports. Mascot shown is an original illustration, not the school's official logo.
Photos Around Town
New photos of the town are on the way. Each frame below is a labeled slot waiting for a real Ariton photo — the 1951 Main Street picture is a genuine Ariton photo (credited), the tower and Main Street frames are labeled illustrations until real photos arrive, and nothing here is a stock photo of somewhere else.
Photo coming soon — Ball Fields & Softball Complex
Drop-in photo slot — a new photo of Ariton will fill this frame.
Photo coming soon — Churches
Drop-in photo slot — a new photo of Ariton will fill this frame.
Town Government
Mayor–council government · Town Hall, 6 East Main Street, Ariton, AL 36311
Photo coming soon — Town Hall
Drop-in photo slot — a new photo of Ariton will fill this frame.
Mayor
Ben Key
Mayor of the Town of Ariton, as listed in the town's Wikipedia entry (sourced to Ozark-area news coverage of his election) and Dale County reporting.
Town Council
Council roster as reported by the Dale County Chronicle in its 2026 council coverage.
Meetings
The Town Council meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at Town Hall, 6 East Main Street. Meetings are open to the public — if you'd like an item considered, contact Town Hall ahead of the meeting so it can be placed on the agenda.
Recent council business reported locally includes a proposed “Adopt-a-Hydrant” volunteer program — residents repainting and clearing around fire hydrants — and drainage repair planning. Watch the Events calendar for each month's meeting date.
Town Hall Hours
- Monday – Thursday8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Friday8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
- Saturday – SundayClosed
Hours as listed in public directories — call ahead around holidays to confirm.
History of Ariton
How Charlton and Ariosta became Ariton
Most towns start in one place. Ariton started in two — and exists because its founders decided cooperation beat competition. When the rival railroad stops of Charlton (first called Dean's Station) and Ariosta (spelled Ariosto in some records) agreed to merge in 1905, they didn't pick a winner: they bought fresh land halfway between, moved their stores, gin, and warehouses there, and stitched a new name out of the two old ones.
On the Alabama Register of Landmarks & Heritage
Two Ariton landmarks carry state recognition: the Ariton Universalist Church, built in 1913, and the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Have an older photo of Ariton?
If your family has pictures of old Ariton — the depot days, the gin, school classes, Main Street in any decade — Town Hall would love a copy for the town's collection.
Sources: Encyclopedia of Alabama (Ariton article), Dale County newspaper transcriptions in the USGenWeb Archives, and Wikipedia's Ariton entry. Linked in the footer.
Historia de Ariton
Cómo Charlton y Ariosto se convirtieron en Ariton
Water Department
Ariton Water Works · Town of Ariton
New — pay online
Pay Your Water Bill Online
Ariton Water Authority (Town of Ariton) is listed on doxo as a doxoDIRECT biller — payments are delivered electronically, directly to the biller. Look up what you owe here, then pay on doxo. This site never collects card or bank numbers — payment happens on doxo's secure site.
- Find your account number on your paper water statement.
- Look up your amount due below (or read it right off your statement).
- Tap Pay on doxo and pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit, Apple Pay, or your bank account. Payments are free with a linked bank account; other methods may carry a fee, shown on doxo before checkout.
- Keep your doxo confirmation — that's your receipt.
Look Up Your Bill
Enter the account number and account holder's last name exactly as they appear on your statement. Demo bill in this preview: account 1001, last name Resident.
Past due or disconnected? Call the water office first at (334) 762-2266 before paying online, so your payment is applied correctly and any reconnection steps are clear.
Online payment is processed by doxo, a third-party service. Any fees are doxo's, disclosed before checkout; the Town does not set them. Source: doxo — Town of Ariton (Ariton Water Authority) listing.
Water Works Office
(334) 762-2266
Email (as listed by doxo): aritonwaterworks@centurytel.net
Mailing: P.O. Box 53, Ariton, AL 36311
In person: Town Hall, 6 E Main St
Office Hours
- Mon – Thu8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
- Friday8:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Public directories list Town Hall under both (334) 762-2222 and (334) 762-2266 — if one number doesn't reach the water office, try the other.
Common Requests
Before this site's official launch
Water rates, standard due dates, deposit amounts, and late fees are set by town ordinance and weren't published in the public sources used to build this page, so none are stated here — each bill's amount and due date above are entered by town staff from the actual statement. The water office can confirm current amounts.
More Online Payments
Pay other town fees online — permits, licenses, deposits and more. This section is separate from water bill pay. Only pay an amount Town Hall has quoted you, and use the reference shown so your payment is credited correctly.
The Town receives the full amount; the convenience fee is $2.95 by bank account, $4.95 by card on payments up to $100, and 3.5% on larger payments.
Background Checks
Background screening arranged through the Town for applicants for town-owned rental property.
What it is
When a resident applies for a town-owned rental, the Town may request a background screening of the applicant. This service covers town-owned rentals only:
- Applicants for town-owned rental property
How it works
- The Town submits the request form below for the rental applicant.
- The applicant receives a consent link, verifies their identity, and pays the screening fee.
- The report is delivered only to the town official handling the rental. Results are never posted publicly.
Pricing
Screening packages start at $35. The applicant pays the fee.
- Standard — $35
- Plus — $45
- Premium — $50
Consent and permissible purpose
Background checks run only with the applicant's written consent and a permissible purpose — an application for a town-owned rental — under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Request a background check
This service is administered by CrossTrade Contracting on the Town's behalf.
Facility Rentals
Town spaces for reunions, receptions, league games, and community events. Rental fees are set by the Town Council — the amounts below are samples until the Town loads its real schedule.
Community Center
Tables and chairs, full kitchen, air conditioning — the town's living room for receptions, reunions, and meetings.
$75 / day Sample
Park Pavilion
Covered picnic pavilion at the park with grills and restrooms nearby — birthdays, cookouts, and family days.
$25 / day Sample
Ball Fields
Lighted fields for league play, tournaments, and practices, scheduled through the Clerk's office.
$20 / game Sample
Request a rental
Call or visit Town Hall to check your date, or send a request through the Contact page with the facility, the date, and your phone number. The Clerk confirms availability and the deposit, and your date goes on the town calendar once it's approved.
Cemetery Records
Look up burial records and plot information for the town cemetery. Records are maintained by the Town Clerk's office, and this lookup connects to the Clerk's records at launch.
Search the records
Record lookup goes live with the Clerk's cemetery register — for help today, call Town Hall and the Clerk can look up any plot or burial record for you.
Plots and arrangements
Plot purchases, burial arrangements, and cemetery rules are handled by the Town Clerk's office during regular hours. If you are planning ahead, the Clerk can show you the available sections on the cemetery map.
Small Permits & Payments
Apply for the small stuff right here — and pay the Town's fee online. Pick a permit, fill out the short application, and pay by card or bank account; the money settles directly to the Town, the same as a water bill. The Town Clerk reviews every application in the website dashboard, and your permit or tag is issued once it's approved and paid.
How it works
1. Apply — fill out the short form below. 2. Pay online — card or bank account, funds go straight to the Town. 3. The Clerk approves it in the dashboard. 4. Issued — permits are confirmed by email or phone; dog tags are mailed to you or held for pickup at Town Hall, your choice on the application. Burn permits are free — apply and you're done, no payment step.
Sample fee schedule — the Town replaces these amounts with its adopted schedule before launch.
Dog tag
Register your dog with the Town — a current tag helps lost dogs get home fast (and pairs with the Lost & Found Pets board).
$5 / year Sample
Yard-sale permit
Planning a yard or garage sale? A permit puts your sale on the town calendar and keeps you on the right side of the town's sign rules.
$5 / sale Sample
Burn permit
Burning brush or a debris pile takes a permit so the fire department knows what's planned — and permits pause automatically on dry, windy days.
No charge Sample
Meetings & Bids
Council meeting agendas and minutes, and the Town's open bid postings — the public record, in one place.
Agendas & minutes archive
The Clerk posts each meeting's agenda before the meeting and the approved minutes after. The archive fills in as meetings are posted — the most recent documents appear first.
Regular Council Meeting — most recent · Agenda · Minutes (posted by the Clerk)
Regular Council Meeting — previous month · Agenda · Minutes (posted by the Clerk)
For an older record, contact the Town Clerk — Alabama's Open Records process starts at the Clerk's office.
Town bid postings
When the Town buys equipment, materials, or services, the bid notice is posted here with the deadline and how to submit. Sealed bids are opened in public at Town Hall.
No bids are open right now — new postings appear here as the Town issues them.
Accessibility Statement
The Town wants every resident to be able to use this website, including residents who use assistive technology.
Our standard
This website is built to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA — the standard the U.S. Department of Justice requires of local governments under the Americans with Disabilities Act (28 C.F.R. Part 35). Pages are checked for readable contrast, keyboard navigation, text that can be enlarged, and labels and descriptions for screen readers.
If something doesn't work for you
If any page, document, or form on this site is hard for you to use, contact the Town Clerk's office — by phone or email through the Contact page — and tell us which page and what you need. We will get you the same information or service another way, at no charge: a document in large print or another format, reading a form over the phone, or helping you complete it in person.
Accessibility requests are a priority for the Clerk's office, and we aim to respond within two business days.
Town Points — tap a tag, visit the town
Small weatherproof tags are mounted at the places that make this town itself — the museum, the park, the water tower, the old depot. A visitor taps a phone to a tag and that place's page opens right there.
How it works
- Tap & go: every tag opens its place's page — its history, hours, photos, and a short audio blurb you can listen to on the spot.
- The Clerk keeps it current: place pages are edited from the website dashboard, so the tag itself never needs reprogramming — update the page once and every tap sees it.
- Every place page is in English and Spanish, like the rest of this site.
- Built by CrossTrade on the same tag system as TapSpec — proven tags, no app to install, nothing for visitors to sign up for.
Where the tags are
Map of Town Points — a pin appears here for every installed tag. When a tag is set up, the installer stands at the spot and the phone captures its exact GPS location, which is saved to that point's record — so the map is always where the tags really are.
Setting up a point
Mount the tag, stand at the spot, and tap \"capture location\" — the phone's GPS fixes the point's exact coordinates and saves them to its record and its pin on the map above. The Clerk adds the history, hours, and photos from the dashboard whenever they are ready.
Town Asset Tags — every hydrant, meter, and valve, on the map · Powered by TapSpec
A paid add-on for the town crew: a weatherproof tag goes on each town asset — fire hydrants, water meters, valves, park equipment, and signs. Tap it with a phone and that asset's record opens.
What a tap shows
- The asset's exact GPS location, plotted on the town map.
- Last inspection date, next inspection due, and the crew's notes.
- The full inspection history for that asset, in one place.
Log an inspection on the spot
The crew member taps the tag, checks the asset, and logs the inspection right there on the phone — date, condition, and notes save to the asset's record immediately. Everything lives in one dashboard the Clerk controls.
Setup works the same way as Town Points: mount the tag, stand at the asset, and the phone captures its exact GPS coordinates into the record.
For the fire department
Documented hydrant locations and dated inspection records are exactly what the fire department needs for its insurance (ISO) documentation — every hydrant accounted for, every inspection on record.
Introductory pricing
- Setup: from $5 per tag, one time — includes the tag, GPS capture, and the asset's record.
- Dashboard: from $15/month — the asset map, inspection history, and due-date tracking for the whole town.
Runs on the same tag platform as Town Points and TapSpec — one system for the whole town.
Events Calendar
Approved community events, the standing council meeting, and a place to add your own
The Town Council meeting (2nd Monday, 7:00 PM, Town Hall) is shown every month automatically. Other events appear once approved.
Upcoming Events
Community Fall Cleanup Day (Demo)
Sat, November 7, 2026 · 9:00 AM · Town Hall, 6 E Main St
Demo event so the calendar can be clicked through — neighbors meet at Town Hall with gloves and bags; the town provides trailers.
Hosted by Town of Ariton (demo)
Public Hearing: Proposed Zoning / Land Use Ordinance
Tue, November 10, 2026 · 6:00 PM Central · Ariton Town Hall council chambers, Ariton, AL 36311
The Town Council will consider adopting Ariton's first comprehensive zoning ordinance and official zoning map (the town is currently unzoned). Copies of the proposed ordinance and maps are available for inspection at Town Hall during regular business hours. All citizens may be heard in favor of or in opposition. Written comments go to the Town Clerk by mail (P.O. Box 53, Ariton, AL 36311) or email and must be received at least 24 hours before the hearing.
Hosted by Town Council of the Town of Ariton
Add an Event
Anyone can submit. Events are held for review and appear on the calendar once approved, so please submit a few days ahead.
Report a Problem
Tell Town Hall about a leak, pothole, streetlight, missed pickup or other town issue. You'll get a tracking code — keep it to check the status. For emergencies, always call 911.
Check a report's status
Try the demo: code ARI-DEMO01, contact demo@example.com
Forms Center
Fill out town forms online. Submissions go straight to Town Hall, and you'll get a reference code for each one.
Town Records & Documents
Council agendas and minutes, ordinances, budgets, water quality reports and other public documents.
No documents posted yet.
Local Directory
Town offices, schools, emergency services and more — search or filter by category.
Town Alerts — Text & Email
Sign up for the alerts you want. Message/data rates may apply for texts. You can unsubscribe any time.
Unsubscribe
Explore Ariton
The main things in town, pinned — tap a place for directions
Pins 1–4 match the list. Map centered on Main Street (AL-51 / AL-123).
Around Town in Pictures
Contact the Town
Who to call, where to go
Emergency? Call 911
For fire, medical, or police emergencies in Ariton and Dale County, always dial 911 first.
Town Hall — Main Number
(334) 762-22666 E Main St, Ariton, AL 36311
Mon–Thu 8:30–4:00 · Fri 8:30–12:00
Confirm before launch: directories list Town Hall under both (334) 762-2222 and (334) 762-2266, so if one doesn't answer, try the other.
Quick Directory
- Town Hall
6 E Main St, Ariton, AL 36311 - Water Works (mail)
P.O. Box 53, Ariton, AL 36311 - Water Works (email, as listed by doxo)
aritonwaterworks@centurytel.net - Fire & Rescue (non-emergency)
795 E Main St · (334) 762-2399 - Ariton School
264 Creel Richardson Rd, Ariton, AL 36311
Ariton School website: ahs.dalecountyboe.org (Dale County Schools).
Common Questions
My Account
A frozen preview snapshot of the demo resident's dashboard — read-only.
Welcome, Demo Resident
demo@example.com · Linked water account: 1001
My water bills
Demo Resident
Account 1001 · 12 Oak St · Due Nov 15, 2026
$75.00
Unpaid
Fee-exact totals if you pay online: bank account $77.95 · card $79.95
My reports
ARI-DEMO01 · Streetlight out · In progress
Sample request: streetlight flickering at night.
Town Hall note: Crew scheduled to check the fixture this week. (Demo note)
My forms
Nothing here yet in the demo snapshot.
My other payments
Nothing here yet in the demo snapshot.
My alerts
Demo subscription: General town news, Council meetings.