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 many counties that make up Alabama. According to the latest official count from the year 2020, the county is home to 228,954 people, which makes it the seventh most populated county in the whole state.

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 that are closely connected.

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, the last battle of the Creek Indian War, which 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 a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km²). Out of this, 784 square miles (2,030 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) is water.

The county has several major highways, including Interstate 65, Interstate 85, and many U.S. and state routes. It is also served by the Montgomery Area Transit System.

Montgomery County is surrounded by 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.

A part of the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail is located 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, with about 22.5% of residents being under 18 years old and 16.1% being 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. There were many homes in the county, with about 29.6% having children under 18 and 39.4% having a female householder without a partner present. Many housing units were either owned or rented, with some vacancies in both categories.

Politics

Montgomery County tends to support Democratic leaders, similar to other areas in the Black Belt of Alabama. The last Republican leader to win the county was George H. W. Bush in 1992.

The county has important roads like Interstate 85 and 65. It also has places where goods are moved along 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 operates public schools for most of the county, while the Pike Road City School District serves Pike Road. The Maxwell Air Force Base is zoned to schools run by the Department of Defense Education Activity, with elementary and middle students attending Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School and high school students going to Montgomery Public Schools.

The Montgomery City-County Public Library runs public libraries in the area. The county is also home to several colleges and universities, including Huntingdon College, Faulkner University, Alabama State University, Auburn University Montgomery, and others.

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 (which is partly in Crenshaw County), 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.