Montgomery County is a
countyIn the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...
in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. It is the most populous county in the Montgomery
Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Montgomery, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area in central Alabama...
; its population in 2010 was 229,363 .
History
Montgomery County was established by dividing Monroe County on December 6, 1816 by the
Mississippi Territorial LegislatureThe Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
. It is named for
Lemuel P. MontgomeryLemuel Purnell Montgomery was an American military officer who fought in the Creek War. Montgomery was an attorney in Nashville, Tennessee when the War of 1812 broke out, and was commissioned as a major of the 39th Infantry. Montgomery was killed in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on March 27, 1814...
, a military officer killed at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. The city of
MontgomeryMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, which is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, is named for
Richard MontgomeryRichard Montgomery was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a brigadier-general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland...
, an
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 799.76 square miles (2,071.4 km²), of which 789.76 square miles (2,045.5 km²) (or 98.75%) is land and 9.99 square miles (25.9 km²) (or 1.25%) is water.
Major highways
.svg.png)
Interstate 65Interstate 65 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States. The southern terminus is located at an intersection with Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 , U.S. Route 12, and U.S...
.svg.png)
Interstate 85Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...
U.S. Highway 31
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 82
U.S. Highway 231
U.S. Highway 331
Alabama State Route 94State Route 94 is a long route that serves as a connection between the towns of Ada and Orion in southern Montgomery County.-Route description:...
Alabama State Route 110State Route 110 is a long route in the central part of the state. The western terminus of the route is at its junction with State Route 126 within sight of the Interstate 85 and U.S. Highway 80 interchange east of Montgomery. The eastern terminus of the route is at its junction with U.S...
Alabama State Route 152State Route 152 is a route along the north and northeast side of Montgomery. The western terminus of the route is at an interchange with Interstate 65/U.S. Highway 82 near the Alabama River north of Montgomery. The eastern terminus of the route is at an interchange with U.S...
Alabama State Route 271State Route 271 or SR-271 is a long route that serves as a connection between U.S. Highway 82 / U.S. Highway 231 and Interstate 85 in Montgomery, Alabama.-Route description:...
Adjacent counties
- Elmore County
Elmore County is a county of the State of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General John A. Elmore. As of 2010 its population was 79,303. Its county seat is Wetumpka.This county is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
(north)
- Macon County
Macon County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Nathaniel Macon, a member of the United States Senate from North Carolina. Developed for cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is one of the counties in Alabama within the Black Belt of the South.As...
(northeast)
- Bullock County
Bullock County, Alabama is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of Colonel Edward C. Bullock of Barbour County. Living descendants of Colonel Bullock include prominent American cinema film actress, Sandra Bullock. As of 2010 the population was 10,914. In 1867, Union Springs...
(east)
- Pike County
Pike County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General Zebulon Pike, of New Jersey, an explorer who led an expedition to southern Colorado and discovered Pikes Peak in 1806. As of 2010 the population was 32,899. Its county seat is Troy.- History :In 1819 the State...
(southeast)
- Crenshaw County
Crenshaw County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a judge, Anderson Crenshaw. As of 2010 the population was 13,906. Its county seat is Luverne.-Geography:...
(southwest)
- Lowndes County
Lowndes County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named in honor of William Lowndes, a member of the United States Congress from South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,299...
(west)
- Autauga County
Autauga County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 54,571. Its county seat is Prattville.Autauga County is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
(northwest)
Demographics
2010
Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:
- 39.5% White
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
- 54.7% Black
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
- 0.3% Native American
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
- 1.2% Asian
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
- 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
- 1.3% Two or more races
Multiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
- 3.6% Hispanic or Latino
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
(of any race)
2000
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 223,510 persons, 86,068 households, and 56,804 families in the county. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 283 persons per square mile (109/km
2). There were 95,437 housing units, at an average density of 121 per square mile (47/km
2). The racial makeup of the county was 48.85%
WhiteRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 48.58%
BlackRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.99%
AsianRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.25%
Native AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.03%
Pacific IslanderRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.35% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.94% from two or more races.
HispanicsRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
and
LatinosRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, of any race, made up 1.19% of the population.
The total population was estimated to have grown by 61 persons from 2000 to 2006.
By 2005, 52.5% of the population was black, 44.0% was non-Hispanic white, 1.4% was Hispanic, 1.2% was Asian, 0.2% was Native American, and 0.9% of the population reported two or more races. This excludes those who reported "some other race" and "white", because the Census Bureau reclassified all who reported "some other race" as white.
There were 86,068 households, 32.20% of which included children under the age of 18, 43.80% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 18.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.00% were non-families. Single-persons households were 29.50% of the total; 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46. The average family size was 3.06.
Persons younger than 18 were 25.80% of the population; those 18–24, 11.70%; 25–44, 29.80%; 45–64, 20.90%; and 65 and older, 11.80%. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,962, and the median income for a family was $44,669. Males had a median income of $32,018; females, $24,921. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $19,358. About 13.50% of families and 17.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.10% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those 65 and older.
2008 election results
In the presidential race,
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
won 62,166 votes, or 59%, while 42,031 votes (40% of those cast) were for
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
Government and infrastructure
The
Alabama Department of CorrectionsThe Alabama Department of Corrections, commonly referred to as , is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery....
operates the
Kilby Correctional FacilityKilby Correctional Facility is a Alabama Department of Corrections prison for the state of Alabama, located in Mt. Meigs, unincorporated Montgomery County, Alabama, near Montgomery. Its current capacity inmates is 1,250. Kilby serves as receiving and processing center for all male Alabama state...
in
Mount MeigsMount Meigs is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County in the state of Alabama. The Mount Meigs Campus, a juvenile correctional facility and the headquarters of the Alabama Department of Youth Services, is in Mount Meigs. Mount Meigs is located at .-History:The area's major export in the...
, an
unincorporated areaIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in the county. The Montgomery Women's Facility, an ADOC facility for women, is located behind Kilby. In addition ADOC operates the Red Eagle Work Center in an unincorporated area 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Downtown
MontgomeryMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
.
The Mount Meigs Campus, a juvenile correctional facility and the headquarters of the
Alabama Department of Youth ServicesThe Alabama Department of Youth Services is a state agency of Alabama, headquartered on the grounds of the Mount Meigs Campus in Mount Meigs, unincorporated Montgomery County, near Montgomery...
, which operates the campus, is in Mount Meigs.
Unincorporated areas
- Ada
- Boylston
Boylston, Alabama is a populated place between the city of Montgomery, Alabama and the Tallapoosa River. As of 1950 it had a population of 1,000.It is located on the north side of what was at one point the Western Railway of Alabama Tracks.-Sources:...
- Cecil
- Hope Hull
Hope Hull is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, southwest of Montgomery.It is the home to Hooper Academy, and also the location of Tankersley Rosenwald School, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.Bibb Graves, Governor of Alabama,...
- Mount Meigs
Mount Meigs is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County in the state of Alabama. The Mount Meigs Campus, a juvenile correctional facility and the headquarters of the Alabama Department of Youth Services, is in Mount Meigs. Mount Meigs is located at .-History:The area's major export in the...
- Pintlala
- Ramer
Ramer is an unincorporated community located in Montgomery County, Alabama. The elevation is . The community is located from the city of Montgomery.-Notable residents:Ramer is the birthplace of former Major League Baseball player Oscar Gamble....
- Snowdoun
- Waugh
Education
Montgomery Public SchoolsMontgomery Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. The district serves the city of Montgomery and surrounding Montgomery County...
operates public schools.
The Montgomery City-County Public Library operates public libraries.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Alabama
- Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Montgomery County, Alabama
External links