List of counties in Alabama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The U.S. state of Alabama has sixty-seven counties. The oldest is Washington County (created June 4, 1800) and the youngest is Houston County (created February 9, 1903).
The land enclosed by the present state borders was joined to the United States of America piecemeal. Prior to permanent settlement by Europeans, there was an overlap between the areas claimed by Spain as Spanish Florida and by England as the Province of Carolina. However, the first permanent colony was established by the French on the banks of the Mobile River in 1702. A part of northern Alabama was granted to James Oglethorpe as part of Georgia in 1732 while France and England competed for alliances with native tribes. Great Britain took possession of France's territory in Alabama following the French and Indian War in 1763. They controled the area south of the 32nd parallel while the rest of the present-day state remained Indian territory.[citation needed]
Following the American Revolutionary War, West Florida south of the 31st parallel became a possession of Spain while the remainder was organized primarily as the Mississippi Territory, with narrow claims by Georgia and South Carolina persisting until 1804. The territorial assembly established some of the earliest county divisions which have survived to the present. The United States took control of the Mobile District of West Florida in 1813. In 1814 the Treaty of Fort Jackson opened the territory to American settlers. In 1817 the western part of the territory became the State of Mississippi and the remainder the Alabama Territory. The Alabama territorial legislature established several more county divisions. Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state in 1819. The Alabama state legislature formed additional counties from former Indian lands as the Indian Removal Act took effect and settlers populated different areas of Alabama. (See History of Alabama)[citation needed]
In 1820, Alabama had 29 counties. By 1830 there were 36, with Indians still occupying land in northeast and far western Alabama. By 1840, 49 counties had been created; 52 by 1850; 65 by 1870; and the present 67 counties by 1903.[1]
The Alabama Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division issues standard automobile license plates bearing a one or two digit number identifying the county in which the vehicle is registered. This number is given in the fourth column in the table below. The prefixes proceed alphabetically, with the first three reserved for the state's historically most populous counties. (Note that St. Clair County (59) follows Shelby County (58) using the more common abbreviated form.) Individual license plate numbers are assigned sequentially in each licensing office. The numbers are in the format XA1111A or XXA111A, depending on whether the prefix is one or two digits. Madison County (47) has since surpassed Montgomery County (3) in population, but still uses its two-digit prefix. Overflow registrations are accommodated by substituting a letter for one of the registration numbers. (XXZ999Z is followed by XXA0A0A)[2]
According to 2006 U. S. Census estimates, the average population of Alabama's sixty-seven counties is 68,642, with Jefferson County as the most populous (656,700), and Greene County (9,374) the least. The average land area is 757 mi² (1,962 km²). The largest county is Baldwin (1,596 mi², 4,134 km²) and the smallest is Etowah (535 mi², 1,386 km²).[3] The constitution of Alabama requires that each county in Alabama cover at least 450 square miles in area. Proposals to split some counties (such as Jefferson County) into smaller units have been defeated on the grounds that one of the units would have been too small.[citation needed]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. (In this system, St. Clair County is alphabetized ahead of Shelby County.) The FIPS code links in the table point to U. S. Census "quick facts" pages for each county.
Contents |
[edit] Sortable table
| County |
FIPS Code [4] |
County seat [5] |
License # [2] |
Created [5] |
Origin [5] |
Etymolgy [1] |
Population [3] |
Area [3] |
Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autauga County | 001 | Prattville | 4 | 1818 | Formed from Montgomery County |
Autauga Creek | 49,730 | 596 mi² (1,544 km²) |
 |
| Baldwin County | 003 | Bay Minette | 5 | 1809 | Formed from Washington County and West Florida |
Abraham Baldwin (1754 – 1807), U.S. legislator from Georgia |
169,162 | 1,596 sq mi (4,134 km²) |
 |
| Barbour County | 005 | Clayton | 6 | 1832 | Formed from Pike County |
James Barbour (1775 – 1842), Governor of Virginia and U.S. Senator |
28,171 | 885 sq mi (2,292 km²) |
 |
| Bibb County | 007 | Centreville | 7 | 1818 | Formed from Montgomery County (as Cahawba County) | William Wyatt Bibb (1781 - 1820), Governor of Alabama |
21,482 | 623 sq mi (1,614 km²) |
 |
| Blount County | 009 | Oneonta | 8 | 1818 | Formed from Montgomery County and Indian territories |
Willie Blount (1768 – 1835), Governor of Tennessee. |
56,436 | 646 sq mi (1,673 km²) |
 |
| Bullock County | 011 | Union Springs | 9 | 1866 | Formed from Barbour, Macon, Montgomery, and Pike Counties | Edward Bullock, colonel in the Confederate States Army |
10,906 | 625 sq mi (1,619 km²) |
 |
| Butler County | 013 | Greenville | 10 | 1819 | Formed from Conecuh and Monroe Counties |
William Butler, captain in Creek War |
20,520 | 777 sq mi (2,012 km²) |
 |
| Calhoun County | 015 | Anniston | 11 | 1832 | Formed from St. Clair County (as Benton County) |
John C. Calhoun (1782 – 1850), 7th U.S. Vice President |
112,903 | 608 sq mi (1,575 km²) |
 |
| Chambers County | 017 | LaFayette | 12 | 1832 | Formed from Montgomery County |
Henry H. Chambers (1790 - 1826), U.S. Senator |
35,176 | 597 sq mi (1,546 km²) |
 |
| Cherokee County | 019 | Centre | 13 | 1836 | Formed from Cherokee territory |
Cherokee people | 24,863 | 553 sq mi (1,432 km²) |
 |
| Chilton County | 021 | Clanton | 14 | 1868 | Formed from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby Counties (as Baker County) |
William Parish Chilton (1810 – 1871), Alabama Supreme Court Justice and Confederate congressman |
41,953 | 694 sq mi (1,797 km²) |
 |
| Choctaw County | 023 | Butler | 15 | 1847 | Formed from Sumter and Washington Counties |
Choctaw people | 14,656 | 914 sq mi (2,367 km²) |
 |
| Clarke County | 025 | Grove Hill | 16 | 1812 | Formed from Washington County |
John Clarke, general in the Creek War from Georgia |
27,248 | 1,238 sq mi (3,206 km²) |
 |
| Clay County | 027 | Ashland | 17 | 1866 | Formed from Randolph and Talladega Counties |
Henry Clay (1777 - 1852), U.S. legislator from Kentucky |
13,829 | 605 sq mi (1,567 km²) |
 |
| Cleburne County | 029 | Heflin | 18 | 1866 | Formed from Calhoun, Randolph , and Talladega Counties |
Patrick Cleburne (1828 - 1864), major general in Confederate States Army |
14,700 | 560 sq mi (1,450 km²) |
 |
| Coffee County | 031 | Elba | 19 | 1841 | Formed from Dale County |
John Coffee (1772 – 1833), military leader in War of 1812 and Creek War |
46,027 | 679 sq mi (1,759 km²) |
 |
| Colbert County | 033 | Tuscumbia | 20 | 1867 | Formed from Franklin County |
George Colbert and Levi Colbert, Chickasaw chiefs |
54,766 | 595 sq mi (1,541 km²) |
 |
| Conecuh County | 035 | Evergreen | 21 | 1818 | Formed from Monroe County |
Conecuh River | 13,403 | 851 sq mi (2,204 km²) |
 |
| Coosa County | 037 | Rockford | 22 | 1832 | Formed from Montgomery County |
Coosa River | 11,044 | 652 sq mi (1,689 km²) |
 |
| Covington County | 039 | Andalusia | 23 | 1821 | Formed from Henry County |
Leonard Covington (1768 – 1813), brigadier general in War of 1812 and U.S. Congressman |
37,234 | 1,034 sq mi (2,678 km²) |
 |
| Crenshaw County | 041 | Luverne | 24 | 1866 | Formed from Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, and Pike Counties |
Anderson Crenshaw, settler of Butler County |
13,719 | 610 sq mi (1,580 km²) |
 |
| Cullman County | 043 | Cullman | 25 | 1877 | Formed from Blount, Morgan, and Winston Counties |
Colonel John G. Kullmann, founder of county seat | 80,187 | 738 sq mi (1,911 km²) |
 |
| Dale County | 045 | Ozark | 26 | 1824 | Formed from Covington and Henry Counties |
Samuel Dale (1772 – 1841), brigadier general and state legislator |
48,392 | 561 sq mi (1,453 km²) |
 |
| Dallas County | 047 | Selma | 27 | 1818 | Formed from Monroe and Montgomery Counties |
Alexander James Dallas (1759 – 1817) , U.S. Secretary of Treasury |
43,945 | 981 sq mi (2,541 km²) |
 |
| DeKalb County | 049 | Fort Payne | 28 | 1836 | Formed from Cherokee territory |
Johann de Kalb (1721 – 1780), major general in American Revolutionary War |
69,014 | 778 sq mi (2,015 km²) |
 |
| Elmore County | 051 | Wetumpka | 29 | 1866 | Formed from Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa Counties |
John Archer Elmore, Revolutionary War veteran |
75,688 | 621 sq mi (1,608 km²) |
 |
| Escambia County | 053 | Brewton | 30 | 1868 | Formed from Baldwin and Conecuh Counties |
Escambia Creek | 37,849 | 947 sq mi (2,453 km²) |
 |
| Etowah County | 055 | Gadsden | 31 | 1866 | Formed from Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall, and St. Clair Counties (as Baine County) |
Etowah Indian Mounds | 103,362 | 535 sq mi (1,386 km²) |
 |
| Fayette County | 057 | Fayette | 32 | 1824 | Formed from Marion, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Walker Counties |
Marquis de La Fayette (1757 – 1834), Revolutionary War commander |
18,005 | 628 sq mi (1,627 km²) |
 |
| Franklin County | 059 | Russellville | 33 | 1818 | Formed from Cherokee territory |
Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790), politician, diplomat, inventor, and publisher |
30,847 | 636 sq mi (1,647 km²) |
 |
| Geneva County | 061 | Geneva | 34 | 1868 | Formed from Coffee, Dale, and Henry Counties |
county seat, named after Geneva, New York | 25,868 | 576 sq mi (1,492 km²) |
 |
| Greene County | 063 | Eutaw | 35 | 1819 | Formed from Marengo and Tuscaloosa Counties |
Nathanael Greene (1742 – 1786), Revolutionary War general |
9,374 | 646 sq mi (1,673 km²) |
 |
| Hale County | 065 | Greensboro | 36 | 1867 | Formed from Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa Counties |
Stephen F. Hale, lieutenant colonel in Confederate States Army |
18,236 | 644 sq mi (1,668 km²) |
 |
| Henry County | 067 | Abbeville | 37 | 1819 | Formed from Conecuh County |
Patrick Henry (1736 – 1799), Revolutionary War patriot and Governor of Virginia |
16,706 | 562 sq mi (1,456 km²) |
 |
| Houston County | 069 | Dothan | 38 | 1903 | Formed from Dale, Geneva, and Henry Counties |
George S. Houston (1811 – 1879), Governor of Alabama and U.S. Congressman |
95,660 | 580 sq mi (1,502 km²) |
 |
| Jackson County | 071 | Scottsboro | 39 | 1819 | Formed from Cherokee territory |
Andrew Jackson (1767 – 1845), U.S. President |
53,745 | 1,079 sq mi (2,795 km²) |
 |
| Jefferson County | 073 | Birmingham | 1 | 1819 | Formed from Blount County |
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826), U.S. President |
656,700 | 1,113 sq mi (2,883 km²) |
 |
| Lamar County | 075 | Vernon | 40 | 1867 | Formed from Fayette and Marion Counties (as Jones County) |
Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1825 – 1893), U.S. Supreme Court justice |
14,548 | 605 sq mi (1,567 km²) |
 |
| Lauderdale County | 077 | Florence | 41 | 1818 | Formed from Cherokee and Chickasaw territories |
James Lauderdale, Colonel in War of 1812 |
87,891 | 669 sq mi (1,733 km²) |
 |
| Lawrence County | 079 | Moulton | 42 | 1818 | Formed from Cherokee territory |
James Lawrence, naval officer in War of 1812 |
34,312 | 693 sq mi (1,795 km²) |
 |
| Lee County | 081 | Opelika | 43 | 1866 | Formed from Chambers, Macon, Russell, and Tallapoosa Counties |
Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Confederate States Army |
125,781 | 609 sq mi (1,577 km²) |
 |
| Limestone County | 083 | Athens | 44 | 1818 | Formed from Elk and Madison Counties |
Limestone Creek | 72,446 | 568 sq mi (1,471 km²) |
 |
| Lowndes County | 085 | Hayneville | 45 | 1830 | Formed from Butler, Dallas, and Montgomery Counties |
William Lowndes, U.S. Congressman from South Carolina |
12,759 | 718 sq mi (1,860 km²) |
 |
| Macon County | 087 | Tuskegee | 46 | 1832 | Formed from Montgomery County |
Nathaniel Macon, U.S. legislator from North Carolina |
22,594 | 611 sq mi (1,582 km²) |
 |
| Madison County | 089 | Huntsville | 47 | 1808 | Formed from Cherokee and Chickasaw territories |
James Madison, U.S. President |
304,307 | 805 sq mi (2,085 km²) |
 |
| Marengo County | 091 | Linden | 48 | 1818 | Formed from Choctaw territory |
Battle of Marengo | 21,842 | 977 sq mi (2,530 km²) |
 |
| Marion County | 093 | Hamilton | 49 | 1818 | Formed from Tuscaloosa County |
Francis Marion, military leader in American Revolutionary War |
30,165 | 741 sq mi (1,919 km²) |
 |
| Marshall County | 095 | Guntersville | 50 | 1836 | Formed from Blount and Jackson Counties and Cherokee territory |
John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States |
87,185 | 567 sq mi (1,469 km²) |
 |
| Mobile County | 097 | Mobile | 2 | 1812 | Formed from Mobile District of West Florida after annexation into Mississippi Territory |
Mobile and Mobile Bay | 404,157 | 1,233 sq mi (3,193 km²) |
 |
| Monroe County | 099 | Monroeville | 51 | 1815 | Formed from Creek territory |
James Monroe, U.S. President |
23,342 | 1,026 sq mi (2,657 km²) |
 |
| Montgomery County | 101 | Montgomery | 3 | 1816 | Formed from Monroe County |
Lemuel Montgomery, Major in Creek War |
223,571 | 790 sq mi (2,046 km²) |
 |
| Morgan County | 103 | Decatur | 52 | 1818 | Formed from Cherokee territory (as Cotaco County) |
Daniel Morgan, U.S. Congressman |
115,237 | 582 sq mi (1,507 km²) |
 |
| Perry County | 105 | Marion | 53 | 1819 | Formed from Cahawba, Dallas, Marengo, and Tuscaloosa Counties |
Oliver Hazard Perry, naval officer in War of 1812 |
11,186 | 719 sq mi (1,862 km²) |
 |
| Pickens County | 107 | Carrollton | 54 | 1820 | Formed from Tuscaloosa County |
Andrew Pickens or Israel Pickens | 20,133 | 881 sq mi (2,282 km²) |
 |
| Pike County | 109 | Troy | 55 | 1821 | Formed from Henry and Montgomery Counties |
Zebulon Pike, explorer and officer in War of 1812 |
29,620 | 671 sq mi (1,738 km²) |
 |
| Randolph County | 111 | Wedowee | 56 | 1832 | Formed from St. Clair and Shelby Counties |
John Randolph, U.S. Senator from Virginia |
22,673 | 581 sq mi (1,505 km²) |
 |
| Russell County | 113 | Phenix City | 57 | 1832 | Formed from Montgomery and Pike Counties |
Gilbert Russell, officer in Creek War |
50,085 | 641 sq mi (1,660 km²) |
 |
| St. Clair County | 115 | Ashville and Pell City | 59 | 1818 | Formed from Shelby County |
Arthur St. Clair, President of Continental Congress |
75,232 | 634 sq mi (1,642 km²) |
 |
| Shelby County | 117 | Columbiana | 58 | 1818 | Formed from Montgomery County |
Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky |
178,182 | 795 sq mi (2,059 km²) |
 |
| Sumter County | 119 | Livingston | 60 | 1832 | Formed from Choctaw territory |
Thomas Sumter, U.S. legislator |
13,606 | 905 sq mi (2,344 km²) |
 |
| Talladega County | 121 | Talladega | 61 | 1832 | Formed from St. Clair and Shelby Counties |
Talatigi, Creek Indian name for the county seat, meaning "border town" | 80,271 | 740 sq mi (1,917 km²) |
 |
| Tallapoosa County | 123 | Dadeville | 62 | 1832 | Formed from Montgomery and Shelby Counties |
Tallapoosa River | 41,010 | 718 sq mi (1,860 km²) |
 |
| Tuscaloosa County | 125 | Tuscaloosa | 63 | 1818 | Formed from Montgomery County and Choctaw territory |
Tuscaloosa River and county seat | 171,159 | 1,324 sq mi (3,429 km²) |
 |
| Walker County | 127 | Jasper | 64 | 1823 | Formed from Blount, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa Counties |
John Williams Walker, U.S. Senator from Alabama |
70,034 | 794 sq mi (2,056 km²) |
 |
| Washington County | 129 | Chatom | 65 | 1800 | Formed from Adams and Pickering Counties of Mississippi Territory |
George Washington, U.S. President |
17,651 | 1,081 sq mi (2,800 km²) |
 |
| Wilcox County | 131 | Camden | 66 | 1819 | Formed from Dallas and Monroe Counties |
Joseph Wilcox, lieutenant in Creek War |
12,911 | 889 sq mi (2,302 km²) |
 |
| Winston County | 133 | Double Springs | 67 | 1850 | Formed from Walker County (as Hancock County) |
John A. Winston, Governor of Alabama |
24,634 | 614 sq mi (1,590 km²) |
 |
[edit] Former counties and county names
- Baine County (for David W. Baine), changed to Etowah County in 1868
- Baker County (for Alfred Baker, a local landowner), changed to Chilton County in 1874
- Benton County, first named in 1832 for Thomas Hart Benton, who served as aide-de-camp to Andrew Jackson during the Creek War and, since 1820, a U. S. Senator from Missouri, where he settled. In 1849, Benton renounced his support for slavery, alienating him from the Democratic Party. He lost his seat in 1851, and in 1858 the name of the county was changed to Calhoun County, honoring Benton's Senate rival, the fiercely pro-southern John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who had died earlier that year.
- Cahawba County, for the former capital city of Cahawba, changed to Bibb County in 1820
- Cotaco County (for Cotaco Creek), changed to Morgan County in 1821
- Elk County (for the Elk River), originally part of another Houston County (for John Houstoun), changed to Lauderdale County and Limestone County in 1818
- Hancock County (for John Hancock), changed to Winston County in 1858
- Jones County (for Josiah Jones, a local political leader), changed back to Covington County in 1868 after Jones refused the honor
- Jones County (for E. P. Jones), then Sanford County, before becoming Lamar County in 1877
- Sanford County (for H. C. Sanford), changed to Lamar County in 1877
[edit] Fictional counties of note
- See also: List of fictional counties
- Aurora County, the setting for several books by Deborah Wiles.
- Beechum County, the setting for the 1992 film, My Cousin Vinny.
- Greenbow County, the title character's birthplace in the 1994 feature film Forrest Gump, changed from Mobile in the 1986 Winston Groom novel.
- Maycomb County, the setting for Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which was adapted into a feature film in 1962.
- Pearl County, the setting for William March's 1943 novel Looking Glass and of several of his short stories.
[edit] References
- CountyState.info Alabama. Official County Websites. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. - official sites
- ^ a b Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
- ^ a b Nicholson, David. Alabama License Plates, 1969-present. License Plates of North America, 1969-present. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
- ^ a b c Alabama QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ EPA County FIPS Code Listing. EPA.gov. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ a b c National Association of Counties. NACo - Find a county. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
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