Montgomery County, Alabama

Montgomery County is a place in the southeastern part of the United States, in the state of Alabama. It is one of the counties in Alabama.

The most important city in Montgomery County is Montgomery, which is also the capital city of Alabama. This means that Montgomery is where the main government offices for the state are located. Montgomery County is part of a bigger area known as the Montgomery metropolitan area, which includes several nearby cities and towns.

History

Montgomery County was created on December 6, 1816, when Monroe County was divided by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature. The county is named after Lemuel P. Montgomery, a young U.S. Army officer who died during the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, which was part of the Creek Indian War. This happened at the same time as the War of 1812.

The city of Montgomery, which is the county seat, is named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general who died in 1775 while trying to capture Quebec City, Canada.

For much of the 1800s, the county's wealth came from cotton farming. The Civil War caused a short pause in this, but bigger problems started in 1914 when the boll weevil began destroying cotton crops. By the 1940s, farms in the county made more money from cattle than from cotton.

Geography

Montgomery County, Alabama, covers 800 square miles (2,100 km²). Most of this is land, with a small part being water.

The county has major highways, including Interstate 65 and Interstate 85. It is served by the Montgomery Area Transit System.

Montgomery County is next to several other counties: Elmore County to the north, Macon County to the northeast, Bullock County to the east, Pike County to the southeast, Crenshaw County to the southwest, Lowndes County to the west, and Autauga County to the northwest.

Part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail is in this county.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, Montgomery County had a population of 228,954 people. The median age was 38.1 years. About 22.5% of residents were under 18 years old and 16.1% were 65 or older.

The racial makeup included 32.8% White, 57.0% Black or African American, and smaller percentages of Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic or Latino residents.

Most people lived in urban areas, with 87.6% in cities and 12.4% in rural places. Many homes had children under 18, and some homes had a female householder without a partner present. Homes were either owned or rented, with some vacancies.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	6,604		—
1830	12,695		92.2%
1840	24,574		93.6%
1850	29,711		20.9%
1860	35,904		20.8%
1870	43,704		21.7%
1880	52,356		19.8%
1890	56,172		7.3%
1900	72,047		28.3%
1910	82,178		14.1%
1920	80,853		−1.6%
1930	98,671		22.0%
1940	114,420		16.0%
1950	138,965		21.5%
1960	169,210		21.8%
1970	167,790		−0.8%
1980	197,038		17.4%
1990	209,085		6.1%
2000	223,510		6.9%
2010	229,363		2.6%
2020	228,954		−0.2%
2025 (est.)	225,891		−1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

Politics

Montgomery County usually votes for Democratic leaders, like other places in the Black Belt of Alabama. The last Republican leader to win here was George H. W. Bush in 1992.

The county has important roads like Interstate 85 and 65. It also has places where goods travel on the Alabama River and trains in the city of Montgomery. The Montgomery Regional Airport is a big airport that helps people, military planes, and commercial flights in Alabama and the Southeastern United States.

Education

Montgomery Public Schools runs public schools for most of the county. The Pike Road City School District serves Pike Road. The Maxwell Air Force Base has its own schools run by the Department of Defense Education Activity. Younger students go to Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School, and older students go to Montgomery Public Schools.

The Montgomery City-County Public Library has public libraries in the area. The county has many colleges and universities, including Huntingdon College, Faulkner University, Alabama State University, and Auburn University Montgomery.

Cultural sites

Montgomery County has many interesting places to visit that show its history and culture. Some of these places include the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the Montgomery Zoo. You can also visit important historic spots like Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the Alabama State Capitol, and the Civil Rights Memorial. Other interesting sites are the First White House of the Confederacy, the Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald Museum, and the Old Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station, which is now the Freedom Rides Museum. The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is also a great place to learn about history.

Communities

Montgomery County has one city, which is also its largest town and the county seat: Montgomery. There is also one town called Pike Road.

The county includes many smaller places that are not part of a city or town. These are called unincorporated communities. Some of these places are Ada, Carter Hill, Cecil, Currys, Dublin, Grady, Hope Hull, Lapine, Le Grand, Mathews, McDade, Mount Meigs, Pine Level, Pintlala, Ramer, Red Level, Snowdoun, and Waugh. Some of these, like Boylston, are now part of the city of Montgomery.