Barbour County


Located in southeast Alabama along the Alabama-Georgia border, Barbour County was home to six Alabama governors. The county is covered by a fertile, rolling landscape that allowed it to become a center of agriculture and forestry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge is one of the largest preserved natural areas in the state. The county is governed by an elected seven-member commission.

· Founding Date: December 18, 1832
· Area: 884 square miles
· Population: 28,171 (2006 Cenus Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Chattahoochee River, Choctawhatchee River
· Major Highways: U.S. 82, U.S. 431
· County Seat: Clayton
· Largest City: Eufaula

History 

A log building served as the first Barbour Old Barbour County CourthouseBarbour County was created on December 18, 1832, and its original boundary lines encompassed lands acquired from the Creek Indians in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson as well as lands in the eastern part of Pike County. It was named in honor of James Barbour (1775–1842), a distinguished statesman and governor of Virginia. The initial non-Indian settlers came from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia via the Federal Road. The first towns in the area were Williamstown (no longer in existence), Eufaula (known as Irwinton between 1837 and 1843), Louisville (established by Daniel Lewis as a trading post), and Clayton.

As the former county seat of Pike County, Louisville was chosen as the county seat for the newly created Barbour County in 1833, and Pike selected Monticello as its new seat. In March 1834, an 11-person commission selected Clayton as the new county seat because of its central geographical location. A log building served as the county courthouse until 1854, when it was replaced with a brick structure that was remodeled and expanded in 1924. By the 1870s, Eufaula had surpassed Clayton as the most populous and important city in Barbour County. There was some debate about whether the county seat should be located at the geographical or commercial center of the county. A compromise Eufaula, with a population approaching 14,000, is the Eufaula Easter Egg Huntresulted in the approval of Act No. 106 on February 12, 1879, which established courts in both Eufaula and Clayton. In the 1960s, a modern courthouse replaced the nineteenth-century building in Clayton. Today, courts continue in both Eufaula and Clayton and oversee county business in their respective parts of the county.

Major Cities and Demographics 

At the time of the 2000 census Barbour County recorded a population of 29,038, an increase from 25,417 in 1990. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Barbour County’s 2006 population was 28,171 with 52.2 percent White, 46.8 percent African American, and 3.1 percent Hispanic. Barbour ranked 39th in population among Alabama’s counties in 2000. The largest city in the county is Eufaula, with an estimated population of 13,908. Other significant population centers include Clio (2,206) and Clayton (1,475). Barbour is one of Alabama’s poorest counties. In 2004, the median household income for the county was $26,495, compared with $37,062 for the rest of the state. The county ranked 60th in per capita income among Alabama's counties in 1999 with $13,316, compared with $18,189 for the state.

Economy 

Cotton was the main agricultural commodity Barbour County CottonUntil the middle of the twentieth century, farming was the prevailing occupation of Barbour County. Cotton dominated the county economy until the late nineteenth century, at which time farmers diversified into corn and peanuts.The rolling grassland provided good forage land for cattle as well. The economy centered mainly on agriculture until the 1960s, when Barbour's abundant hardwood and pine forests attracted the timber industry.

According to the 2000 Census, 29.1 percent of the jobs in the county consisted of production and transportation occupations, followed by management and professional (23.3 percent), sales and office work (22 percent), services (13.5 percent), and construction and extraction (10.9 percent). Some of the largest employers in the county are the Equity Group—Eufaula Division, Beaulieu of America, Cooper Lighting, American Building Company, Wellstone Mills Eufaula, Lakeview Community Hospital, Mann's Bait, and the City of Eufaula.

The swimming pool at Blue Springs State Park, Blue Springs State ParkThe Barbour County school system and the Eufaula city school system together employ approximately 500 teachers and administrators who serve more than 4,000 students in 11 primary and secondary schools. One of the first two-year colleges established in Alabama, Wallace Community College, has a campus in Eufaula. The college is recognized across the nation for its allied health and nursing programs, and the school leads among two-year Alabama colleges in the number of allied health and nursing graduates. Eufaula's Alabama Technology Network, part of the Alabama college system, offers workforce development, software training, technical assistance for local industry, and technology research.

Geography 

Barbour County is 16th in size among Alabama's Barbour County MapComprising approximately 884 square miles, Barbour County lies in the southeastern part of the state. It is bordered on the north by Russell and Bullock counties, on the west by Pike County, on the south by Dale and Henry counties, and on the east by the state of Georgia.

Two of the state's major rivers run through the county: the Chattahoochee River on the eastern border and the Choctawhatchee River on the southwestern border. The Choctawhatchee boasts an impressive array of aquatic biodiversity, including 118 species of fish, 11 of which are considered at-risk. Numerous tributaries, including the Pea River, offer scenic views and recreational opportunities.

U.S. Highways 82 and 431 are the county's major transportation routes. U.S. Highway 431 runs north–south along the eastern part of the county, while U.S. Highway 82 runs east-west across the northern part of the county. Clayton Municipal Airport located in Clayton and Weedon Field Airport, located in Eufaula, are Barbour County's only two public airports.

Events and Places of Interest 

Barbour County's rolling terrain offers many opportunities for recreational activities. The Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge spans 11,184 acres on both sides of the Chattahoochee River and includes wetlands, agricultural fields, woodlands, and grasslands. The refuge is home to such diverse animals as the bald eagles, American alligators, bobcats, and peregrine falcons. Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge in Barbour County provides American Alligator It provides visitors with excellent opportunities for hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking. The 1,220-acre Lakepoint Resort State Park, located just seven miles north of Eufaula and adjacent to the refuge offers golfing, boating, fishing, and swimming. Blue Springs State Park is home to a unique swimming pool fed with crystal clear water from an underground spring. It remains at a cool 58 degrees throughout the year.

With more than 700 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Seth Lore and Irwinton Historic District in Eufaula is currently the largest in East Alabama and the second-largest in the state. One of the county's most unique tourist attractions is Governor's Park, which overlooks Lake Eufaula. The park honors six distinguished Barbour County natives who served as governor of Alabama: John Gill Shorter, George Corley Wallace, William Dorsey Jelks, Charles Samuel McDowell Jr., Chauncey Sparks, and Robert Miller Patton. Eufaula is also home to Fendall Hall, an 1860 Italianate mansion built by E. B. Young, who constructed the first tall bridge over the Chattahoochee River. The home now serves the community as a museum, and visitors can tour its many rooms with period furnishings and Victorian murals. Other points of interest in Barbour County include Fairview Cemetery, which includes an old Jewish section, the graves of European settlers and Confederate soldiers, and burial grounds for slaves. The Robert G. Wehle Nature Center, located on the Barbour and Bullock county line, offers educational and hands-on nature programs. The Shorter Mansion, once the home of Governor John Gill Shorter, is now a museum honoring the Barbour County residents who became Alabama governors. Also of interest is the Eufaula Athenaeum, located on Broad Street in downtown Eufaula, which houses the collection of A. S. Williams III (1936- ), a successful businessman in insurance in Birmingham. His love of history led him to build important collections in the areas of the U.S. presidency, the Civil War, Alabama and southern history, and the literature of the South. Williams, whose family has deep roots in Eufaula and Barbour County, compiled his collection over the course of some 40 years of collecting.

Additional Resources 

Dorman, Lewy. History of Barbour County, Alabama. Eufaula, Ala.: Barbour County Genealogy and Local History Society and Friends of the Library Genealogical Committee, 2006.

The Heritage of Barbour County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2001.

Hightower, D. L. To Remember a Vanishing World: D.L. Hightower's Photographs of Barbour County, Alabama, c. 1930-1965. Eufaula, Ala.: Historic Chattahoochee Commission, 1997.

Donna J. Siebenthaler
Auburn, Alabama


Published June 28, 2007
Last updated December 10, 2009