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ALABAMA
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Alabama saw its first permanent white settlers in approximately 1699
through 1702. The Spanish explorers De Vervaes and Cabeza de Vaca passed
through this area in their exploration trips. The earliest settlers were
Spanish and French. Mobile was established in 1702 as the first
community.
Many British sympathizers living in Georgia moved into Alabama in
1775 to evade participation in the Revolutionary war. In 1783, other
planters from Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas began migrating to the
area. A group of Scotch-Irish moved into the northern part of Alabama
from Tennessee in 1809. They moved into the Tennessee Valley
district.
In the early 1800s, people from the Carolinas and Virginia came into
the central part of the territory. The next area to settle was along the
Tombigbee and the Black Warrior rivers.
After the war of 1812, Alabama experienced a rapid influx of
settlers. Four states gained statehood between 1816 through 1819, the
last of which was Alabama.
The territory of Alabama was created from the Territory of
Mississippi on 3 March 1817. St. Stephens was the capital of the
territory. in November of 1818, the capital was moved to Cahaba..
Alabama became our 22nd state December 14, 1819. The temporary
state capital was, Huntsville, the seat of Madison County, Alabama
officially became a state on 14 December 1819. You will not find most
of the Alabama census for 1820 because all but eight counties of this
census were lost. Montgomery became the final capital of the
state.
For information regarding the Indian land Cessions and treaties
mentioned below, please refer to the US Genweb project. They
have extensive information on this. All underlined links will take
you off site. You will need to use your back arrow to return to
this site. Where possible, you will be directed to the website for
that county for further information. For the State of Alabama, I
highly recommend you visit the Alabama Department of History and
Archives website. They have extensive information on the county
formations and current county governments.
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COUNTY FORMATIONS
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| Name |
Date Formed |
Parent County |
County Seat |
| Autauga |
November 21, 1818 |
Montgomery |
Prattville |
| Blaine |
December 7, 1800 |
Discontinued in 1867 and incorporated into Etowah |
Gadsden |
| Baker (see Chilton) |
December 30 1868 |
Changed to Chilton in 1874 |
Grantville |
| Baldwin |
December 21, 1809 |
Washington, part of Florida |
Bay Minette |
| Barbour |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession 1812 |
Clayton |
| Benton (see Calhoun) |
December 18, 1832 |
Changed to Calhoun on 29 January 1858 |
Jacksonville |
| Bibb (changed from Cahawba
1820) |
February 7, 1818 |
Cherokee Cession, Montgomery |
Centerville |
| Blount |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee Cession |
Oneonta |
| Bullock |
December 5, 1866 |
Barbour, Macon, Montgomery, Pike |
Union Springs |
| Butler |
December 13, 1819 |
Conecuh, Montgomery |
Greenville |
| Cahawba (See Bibb |
February 7, 1818 |
Changed to Bibb in 1820 |
Cahawba |
| Calhoun (Name changed from Benton 29 Jan 1858) |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Anniston |
| Chambers |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Lafayette |
| Cherokee |
January 9, 1836 |
Cherokee Cession 1835 |
Centre |
| Chilton (Changed from Baker 1874) |
December 30, 1868 |
Autauga, Bibb, Perry, Shelby |
Clanton |
| Choctaw |
December 29, 1847 |
Sumter, Washington |
Butler |
| Clarke |
December 10, 1812 |
Washington |
Grove Hill |
| Clay |
December 7, 1866 |
Randolph, Talladega |
Ashland |
| Cleburne |
December 6, 1866 |
Calhoun, Randolph, Talladega |
Heflin |
| Coffee |
December 29, 1841 |
Dale |
Elba |
| Colbert |
February 6, 1867 |
Franklin |
Tuscumbia |
| Conecuh |
February 13, 1818 |
Monroe |
Evergreen |
| Coosa |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Rockford |
| Cotaco (see Morgan) |
February 8, 1818 |
named for local Indian Chief. Renamed Morgan
County in 1821 |
Somerville |
| Covington |
December 17, 1821 |
Henry |
Andalusia |
| Crenshaw |
November 30, 1866 |
Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, Pike |
Luverne |
| Cullman |
January 24, 1877 |
Blount, Morgan, Winston |
Cullman |
| Dale |
December 22, 1824 |
Covington, Henry |
Ozark |
| Dallas |
February 9, 1818 |
Montgomery |
Selma |
| Decatur |
December 7, 1821 |
Jackson. Abolished by Legislature of 1823/24 |
Woodville |
| DeKalb |
January 9, 1836 |
Cherokee Cession of 1835 |
Fort Payne |
| Elmore |
February 15, 1866 |
Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery, Tallapoosa |
Wetumpka |
| Escambia |
December 10, 6868 |
Baldwin, Conecuh |
Brewton |
| Etowah (changed from Blaine 1868 |
December 7, 1866 |
Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Dekalb, Marshall, St. Clair |
Gadsden |
| Fayette |
December 20, 1824 |
Marion, Pickens, Tuscaloosa |
Fayette |
| Franklin |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee & Chickasaw Cession of 1816 |
Russellville |
| Geneva |
December 26, 1868 |
Dale, Henry, Coffee |
Geneva |
| Greene |
December 13, 1819 |
Marengo, Tuscaloosa |
Eutaw |
| Hale |
January 30, 1867 |
Greene, Marengo, Perry, Tuscaloosa |
Greensboro |
| Hancock (See Winston) |
February 12, 1850 |
Changed to Winston 1858 |
Double Springs |
| Henry |
December 13, 1819 |
Conecuh |
Abbeville |
| Houston |
February 9, 1893 |
Dale, Geneva, Henry |
Dothan |
| Jackson |
December 13, 1819 |
Cherokee Cession of 1816 |
Scottsboro |
| Jefferson |
December 13, 1819 |
Blount |
Birmingham |
| Jones (See Lamar) |
February 4, 1857 |
Abolished 3 Nov. 1867. On 8 Oct 1868, recreated as
Sanford County;. in 1877 name changed to Lamar County |
Vernon |
| Lamar |
February 4, 1867 |
(Jones Co. formed 4 Feb 1867, abolished 3 Nov. 1867
& returned to parent counties. Sanford County org. 8 Oct 1868
from original Jones, name changed to Lamar 1877. Parts of Marion, Fayette, Pickens
added |
Vernon |
| Lauderdale |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee & Chickasaw Cession in 1816 |
Florence |
| Lawrence |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee & Chickasaw Cession 1816 |
Moulton |
| Lee |
February 5, 1866 |
Chambers, Macon, Russell, Tallapoosa |
Opelika |
| Limestone |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee & Chickasaw Cession 1816 |
Athens |
| Lowndes |
January 20, 1830 |
Butler, Dallas, Montgomery |
Haynesville |
| Macon |
December 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Tuskegee |
| Madison |
December 13, 1808 |
Cherokee & Chickasaw Cession 1806-7 |
Huntsville |
| Marengo |
February 6, 1818 |
Choctaw Cession of 1816 |
Linden |
| Marion |
February 13, 1818 |
Tuscaloosa |
Hamilton |
| Marshall |
January 9, 1836 |
Blount, Cherokee Cession 1835, Jackson |
Guntersville |
| Mobile |
December 18, 1812 |
West Florida |
Mobile |
| Monroe |
June 29, 1815 |
Creek Cession 1814, Washington |
Monroeville |
| Montgomery |
December 6, 1816 |
Monroe |
Montgomery |
| Morgan (name changed from Cotaco 1821) |
February 8, 1818 |
Cherokee Turkeytown Cession |
Decatur |
| Perry |
December 13, 1819 |
Montgomery |
Marion |
| Pickens |
December 20, 1820 |
Tuscaloosa |
Carrollton |
| Pike |
December 17, 1821 |
Henry, Montgomery |
Troy |
| Randolph |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession 1832 |
Wedowee |
| Russell |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession 1832 |
Phenix City |
| Sanford (See Lamar) |
February 4, 1867 |
Created out of former Jones County; Name Changed to Lamar
in 1877 |
Vernon |
| St. Clair |
November 20, 1818 |
Shelby |
Ashville |
| Shelby |
February 7, 1818 |
Montgomery |
Columbiana |
| Sumter |
December 18, 1832 |
Choctaw Cession of 1839 |
Livingston |
| Talladega |
December 18, 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Talladega |
| Tallapoosa |
December 1832 |
Creek Cession of 1832 |
Dadeville |
| Tuscaloosa |
February 6, 1818 |
Cherokee & Choctaw Cession 1816 |
Tuscaloosa |
| Walker |
December 26, 1823 |
Marion, Tuscaloosa |
Jasper |
| Washington |
June 4, 1800 |
Mississippi Territory, Baldwin |
Chatom |
| Wilcox |
December 13, 1819 |
Dallas, Monroe |
Camden |
| Winston (Name changed from Hancock 1858) |
February 12, 1850 |
Walker |
Double Springs |
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ALABAMA HISTORICAL WEBLINKS
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| ALGenWeb- Alabama Genealogy on the Internet |
Alabama History On-Line |
| Alabama Archaeological Society |
Alabama Cemetery and Volunteer List |
| Alabama Center of Military History |
Alabama Civil War Regimental Histories |
| Alabama County Historical and Genealogical Societies |
Alabama Department of Archives and History |
| Alabama Genealogy and History |
Alabama Genealogy Resource Center |
| Alabama Heritage Magazine |
Alabama Historical Commission |
| Alabama Historical Quarterly |
Alabama Obituary Links |
| Alabama's Historic African American Places |
Historic Postcards of Alabama |
| Cemeteries of Alabama |
Tombstone Transcription Project- Alabama |