Washington County, Alabama

Washington County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Chatom
Year Organized: 1800
Square Miles: 1,081

Court House:

P.O. Box 146
County Courthouse
Chatom, AL 36518-0146
Phone: (251)847-2208
Fax:

Named: The county was named for George Washington.

State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Washington County, Alabama

Formed in June 4, 1800, the county of the Mississippi Territory and its original boundaries were the Chattahoochee River to the east, the Pearl River to the west, the 32nd parallel to the north and the 31st parallel to the south. It currently encompasses 1,081 square miles. Its area originally contained 26,400 square miles. The county was named for George Washington. The area of Washington County was later divided into 16 Mississippi counties and 29 Alabama counties.

Early county seats of Washington County included McIntosh's Bluff, Wakefield and St. Stephens. The county seat is now located at Chatom. The current boundaries of the county include the State of Mississippi to the west, the Tombigbee River to the east, and Mobile County to the south and Choctaw County to the north.

According to the census of 2000, there were 18,097 people, 6,705 households, and 5,042 families living in the county. The population density was 6/km² (17/mi²). There were 8,123 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (8/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.98% White, 26.89% Black or African American, 7.12% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races. 0.88% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,705 households out of which 37.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were married couples living together, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 22.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.70% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,815, and the median income for a family was $37,881. Males had a median income of $35,237 versus $18,337 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,081. About 14.80% of families and 18.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.50% of those under age 18 and 22.70% of that age 65 or over.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Choctaw County
Northeast: Clarke County
Southeast: Baldwin County
South: Mobile County
Southwest: Greene County, Miss.
Northwest: Wayne County, Miss.

Cities:

Aquilla
Barlow
Bassetts Creek
Bigbee
Calvert
Carson
Chatom (County Seat)
Copeland
Cortelyou
Deer Park
Fairford
Frankville
Fruitdale
Hawthorn
Hawthorne
Healing Springs

Koenton
Leroy
Malcolm
Mc Intosh
Millry
Prestwick
Saint Stephens
Seaboard
Silver Cross
Sunflower
Tibbie
Vinegar Bend
Wagarville
Yarbo
Yellow Pine

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

Washington County, Alabama

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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