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
Sen. Abraham Baldwin/GA
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 7, 1821
Brig. Gen. Leonard Covington/MD
Andalusia
November 24, 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
Commodore Stephen Decatur
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, see Winston
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 6, 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.