AL County Origins
Compiled by James
W. Blankenship jkblank1(at)sbcglobal.net
October 18,
1540: Hernando de Soto
meets Chief Tuskaloosa (Tascaluza) in Battle of Maubila in southwest Alabama
January 20,
1702: Le Moyne brothers
establish Fort Louis de la Mobile, a French fort and settlement twenty-seven
miles up the Mobile River from Mobile Bay.
1717: Fort Toulouse on the Coosa River
constructed by the French to trade with the Indians and offset influence of British.
1756-1763: French and Indian War. France ceded
territorial claims east of the Mississippi River to Britain. Great Britain
returned war-captured Cuba to Spain for Florida, which was divided into West
Florida (including Mobile)
and East Florida (the peninsula).
1798: Mississippi Territory
organized from
Georgia's western land claims, including Alabama.
May 5, 1799: U.S. Army Lieutenant John McClary takes
possession of Fort St. Stephens from the Spanish.
1805-1806: Choctaw, Chickasaw and Cherokee Indian
cessions opened up to white settlement large portions of western (Choctaw) and
northern (Chickasaw and Cherokee) Alabama.
Washington Created June
4, 1800 from Mississippi Territory
Madison Created
December 13, 1808 from Cherokee Indian territory
Baldwin Created December
21, 1809 from Washington
Clarke Created December
10, 1812 from Washington
Mobile Created December
18, 1812 from Louisiana Purchase
Monroe Created June
29, 1815 from Washington & Creek Indian territory
March 3, 1817: Alabama Territory
The Alabama
Territory is created when Congress passes the enabling act allowing the division
of the Mississippi Territory and the admission of Mississippi into the union as
a state.
Janurary 19,
1818: The first
legislature of the Alabama Territory convenes at the Douglass Hotel in the
territorial capital of St. Stephens.
Tuscaloosa Created
February 6, 1818 from Creek & Choctaw Indian territory
Shelby Created
February 7, 1818 from Montgomery
Saint Clair Created
November 20, 1818 from
Marion Created
February 13, 1818 from Tuscaloosa
Marengo Created
February 6, 1818 from Choctaw Indian territory
Limestone Created
February 6, 1818 Elk renamed
Lawrence Created
February 6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Lauderdale Created
February 6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Franklin Created
February 6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Elk Created May 24, 1817
Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Dallas Created
February 9, 1818 from Montgomery
Cotaco Created February 8,
1818 Cherokee Indian territory
Conecuh Created
February 13, 1818 from Monroe
Cahawba Created February
7, 1818 from Monroe and Montgomery
Blount Created
February 6, 1818 from Creek Indian territory
March 2, 1819:
Alabama granted Statehood
Autauga Created November
21, 1818 from Montgomery
Baine Created December 7,
1866 from Lowndes
Baldwin Created December
21, 1809 from Washington
Baker Created December 30,
1868 from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, & Shelby
Barbour Created December
18, 1832 from Pike, & Creek Indian territory
Benton Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Bibb Created Dec. 4,
1820 Cahawba renamed
Blount Created February
6, 1818 from Creek Indian territory
Bullock Created December 5, 1866 from Barbour, Macon, Montgomery, & Pike
Butler Created December
13, 1819 from Monroe & Conecuh
Cahawba Created February
7, 1818 from Monroe and Montgomery
Calhoun Created January
29, 1858 Benton renamed
Chambers Created December 18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Cherokee Created January
9, 1836 from Cherokee Indian territory
Chilton Created December
17, 1874 Baker renamed
Choctaw Created December
29, 1847 from Sumter & Washington
Clarke Created December
10, 1812 from Washington
Clay Created December
7, 1866 from Randolph & Talladega
Cleburne Created December
6, 1866 from Calhoun, Randolph, and Talladega
Coffee Created December
29, 1841 from Dale
Colbert Created Feb.
6, 1867 from Franklin (Abolished 1867, reorganized 1869)
Conecuh Created February
13, 1818 from Monroe
Cotaco Created February 8,
1818 Cherokee Indian territory
Coosa Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Covington Created December
17, 1821 from Henry
Crenshaw Created Nov.
30, 1866 from Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, & Pike
Cullman Created January
24, 1877 from Blount, Morgan, & Winston
Dale Created December
22, 1824 from Covington & Henry
Dallas Created February
9, 1818 from Montgomery
Decatur Created December
7, 1821 Abolished 1823/24
DeKalb Created January
9, 1836 from Cherokee Indian territory
Elk Created May 24, 1817
Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Elmore Created Feb.
15, 1866 from Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery (1867 Tallapoosa)
Escambia Created December
10, 1868 from Baldwin & Conecuh
Etowah Created Dec 01
1868 Baine renamed
Fayette Created December
20, 1824 from Marion, Pickens, & Tuscaloosa
Franklin Created February
6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Geneva Created December
26, 1868 from Dale, Henry, & Coffee
Greene Created December
13, 1819 from Marengo & Tuscaloosa
Hale Created January
30, 1867 from Greene, Marengo, Perry, & Tuscaloosa
Hancock Created February
12, 1850 from Walker
Henry Created December
13, 1819 from Conecuh
Houston Created February
9, 1903 from Dale, Geneva, & Henry
Jackson Created December
13, 1819 from Cherokee Indian territory
Jefferson Created December
13, 1819 from Blount
Jones Created February 4,
1867 from Marion, Fayette, and Pickens
Lamar Created February
8, 1877 Sanford renamed
Lauderdale Created February
6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Lawrence Created February
6, 1818 from Cherokee & Chickasaw Indian territory
Lee Created December
5, 1866 from Chambers, Macon, Russell, & Tallapoosa
Limestone Created February
6, 1818 Elk renamed
Lowndes Created January
20, 1830 from Butler, Dallas, & Montgomery
Macon Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Madison Created December
13, 1808 from Cherokee Indian territory
Marengo Created February
6, 1818 from Choctaw Indian territory
Marion Created February
13, 1818 from Tuscaloosa
Marshall Created January
9, 1836 from Blount, Jackson, Cherokee Indian territory
Mobile Created December
18, 1812 from Louisiana Purchase
Monroe Created June
29, 1815 from Washington & Creek Indian territory
Montgomery Created December
6, 1816 from Monroe
Morgan Created June
14, 1821 Cotaco renamed
Perry Created December
13, 1819 from Creek Indian territory
Pickens Created December
20, 1820 from Montgomery
Pike Created December
17, 1821 from Henry & Montgomery
Randolph Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Russell Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Saint Clair Created November
20, 1818 from
Sanford Created October
8, 1868 Jones renamed
Shelby Created February
7, 1818 from Montgomery
Sumter Created December
18, 1832 from Choctaw Indian territory
Talladega Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Tallapoosa Created December
18, 1832 from Creek Indian territory
Tuscaloosa Created February
6, 1818 from Creek & Choctaw Indian territory
Walker Created December
26, 1823 from Marion & Tuscaloosa
Washington Created June
4, 1800 from Mississippi Territory
Wilcox Created December
13, 1819 from Monroe & Dallas
Winston Created January
22, 1858 Hancock renamed