Alabama Counties
| Alabama is 330 miles long and 190 miles wide at its most distant points. It covers 52,423 square miles, making it the 30th largest of the 50 states. Alabama currently has sixty-seven counties. The oldest county, Washington, was created on June 4, 1800, when what is now Alabama was then part of the Mississippi Territory. The newest county is Houston, created on February 9, 1903. This list contains all counties that have existed in Alabama since the state was created in 1819. |
| County Name |
Date Established |
Origin of Name |
County Seat |
November 21, 1818 |
American Indian Village of Atagi |
Prattville |
|
|
Baine, see Etowah |
December 7, 1866 |
Gen. David W. Baine, CSA |
Gadsden |
December 21, 1809 |
Bay Minette |
||
Baker, see Chilton |
December 30, 1868 |
Alfred Baker |
Grantville |
December 18, 1832 |
Gov. James Barbour/VA |
Clayton |
|
|
Benton, see Calhoun |
December 18, 1832 |
U.S. Sen. Thomas Hart Benton/MO |
Jacksonville |
February 7, 1818 |
Gov. William W. Bibb |
Centreville |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Gov. Willie G. Blount/TN |
Oneonta |
|
December 5, 1866 |
Col. Edward C. Bullock |
Union Springs |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Capt. William Butler/Creek Wars |
Greenville |
|
|
Cahawba, see Bibb |
February 7, 1818 |
Cahawba River, from the Choctaw for "water above" |
Cahawba |
December 18, 1832 |
Sen. John C. Calhoun/SC |
Anniston |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Sen. Henry C. Chambers/AL |
Lafayette |
|
January 9, 1836 |
American Indian Tribe |
Centre |
|
December 30, 1868 |
Confederate Cong. Wm. P. Chilton |
Clanton |
|
December 29, 1847 |
American Indian Tribe |
Butler |
|
December 10, 1812 |
Gen. John Clarke/GA |
Grove Hill |
|
December 7, 1866 |
Sen. Henry Clay/KY |
Ashland |
|
December 6, 1866 |
Major Gen. Patrick Cleburne/AR |
Heflin |
|
December 29, 1841 |
Gen. John Coffee |
Elba |
|
February 6, 1867 |
Chiefs George & Levi Colbert |
Tuscumbia |
|
February 13, 1818 |
American Indian word |
Evergreen |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Town of Alabama Indians |
Rockford |
|
Cotaco, see Morgan |
February 8, 1818 |
Cotaco Creek |
Somerville |
December 17, 1821 |
Brig. Gen. Leonard Covington/MD |
Andalusia |
|
November 30, 1866 |
Judge Anderson Crenshaw |
Luverne |
|
January 24, 1877 |
Johann G. Cullmann |
Cullman |
|
December 22, 1824 |
Gen. Samuel Dale |
Ozark |
|
February 9, 1818 |
A.J. Dallas, US Sec. of Treasury/PA |
Selma |
|
December 7, 1821 Abolished by Legislature of 1823/24 |
Woodville |
||
January 9, 1836 |
Major Gen. Baron DeKalb/Am. Rev. |
Fort Payne |
|
February 15, 1866 |
Gen. John A. Elmore |
Wetumpka |
|
December 10, 1868 |
American Indian name/river |
Brewton |
|
December 7, 1866 |
Cherokee Indian name |
Gadsden |
|
December 20, 1824 |
Marquis de LaFayette |
Fayette |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Benjamin Franklin |
Russellville |
|
December 26, 1868 |
Geneva, Switzerland |
Geneva |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Gen. Nathaniel Greene/GA |
Eutaw |
|
January 30, 1867 |
Col. Stephen F. Hale |
Greensboro |
|
|
Hancock, seeWinston |
February 12, 1850 |
Gov. John Hancock/MA |
Double Springs |
December 13, 1819 |
Gov. Patrick Henry/VA |
Abbeville |
|
February 9, 1903 |
Gov. George S. Houston |
Dothan |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Gen. Andrew Jackson |
Scottsboro |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Pres. Thomas Jefferson |
Birmingham |
|
|
Jones, see Lamar |
February 4, 1867 |
E. P. Jones/Fayette County |
Vernon |
February 4, 1867 |
Sen. L.Q.C. Lamar/MS |
Vernon |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Col. James Lauderdale/TN |
Florence |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Capt. J. Lawrence, USN/VT |
Moulton |
|
December 5, 1866 |
Gen. Robert E. Lee |
Opelika |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Limestone Creek |
Athens |
|
January 20, 1830 |
Cong. William Lowndes/SC |
Hayneville |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Sen. Nathaniel Macon/NC |
Tuskegee |
|
December 13, 1808 |
Pres. James Madison |
Huntsville |
|
February 6, 1818 |
French battlefield |
Linden |
|
February 13, 1818 |
Gen. Francis Marion/SC |
Hamilton |
|
January 9, 1836 |
Chief Justice John Marshall |
Guntersville |
|
December 18, 1812 |
Named for Maubila Indians |
Mobile |
|
June 29, 1815 |
Pres. James Monroe |
Monroeville |
|
December 6, 1816 |
Major L.P. Montgomery/TN |
Montgomery |
|
February 8, 1818 |
Gen. Daniel Morgan/VA |
Decatur |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Commodore O.H. Perry/RI |
Marion |
|
December 20, 1820 |
Gen. Andrew Pickens/SC |
Carrollton |
|
December 17, 1821 |
Gen. Zebulon M. Pike/NJ |
Troy |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Sen. John Randolph/VA |
Wedowee |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Col. Gilbert C. Russell/Creek Wars |
Phenix City |
|
|
Sanford, see Lamar |
February 4, 1867 |
H. C. Sanford/Cherokee County |
Vernon |
November 20, 1818 |
Gen. Arthur St. Clair/PA |
Ashville |
|
February 7, 1818 |
Gov. Isaac Shelby/KY |
Columbiana |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Gen. Thomas Sumter/SC |
Livingston |
|
December 18, 1832 |
Town of Creek Indians |
Talladega |
|
December 18, 1832 |
American Indian name |
Dadeville |
|
February 6, 1818 |
Chief Tuscaloosa |
Tuscaloosa |
|
December 26, 1823 |
Sen. John W. Walker |
Jasper |
|
June 4, 1800 |
Pres. George Washington |
Chatom |
|
December 13, 1819 |
Lt. J.M. Wilcox/Creek Wars |
Camden |
|
February 12, 1850 |
Gov. John A. Winston |
Double Springs |
AUTHORITIES:
Alabama Department of Archives and History. Alabama State Emblems, n.d.
Alabama Department of Archives and History. Official and Statistical Register, 1979.
Rogers, William Warren et al. Alabama: The History of a Deep South State, 1994.
