Blount County


The Mulberry Fork, a major tributary of the Mulberry Fork KayakingLocated in northeastern Alabama, within the Birmingham metro area, Blount County is known for its natural beauty and abundance of outdoor attractions, including rock climbing and kayaking on the rapids on tributaries of the Black Warrior River. Blount County's proximity to Birmingham makes it one of the fastest growing counties in Alabama.

· Founding Date: February 7, 1818
· Area: 643 square miles
· Population: 56,436 (2006 Census Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Locust Fork and Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior    River
· Major Highways: I-65, U.S.31, U.S. 231, U.S. 278
· County Seat: Oneonta
· Largest City: Oneonta

History 

Willie Blount (1768-1835) was governor of Tennessee from Willie BlountBlount County was created by an act of the State Territorial Legislature on February 7, 1818, almost two years before Alabama became a state. Sections of Blount County later became part of Jefferson, Marshall, Walker, and Cullman counties. The county was named for Governor Willie Blount of Tennessee who sent Andrew Jackson to Alabama to aid settlers during the Creek War of 1813-14. Many of Jackson's men became the first settlers of the county and established a trading post at present-day Blountsville. One of the earliest settlers of the area was George Powell, who became one of the first surveyors of Alabama and later authored the first historical account of Blount County.

During the antebellum period, Blount Springs became a well-known vacation resort for wealthy southerners attracted by the area's mineral springs. The county gained notoriety during the Civil War when in May 1863 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked Union Colonel Abel Streight's forces as they attempted to cross the Locust Fork. During the raid, two local sisters, Celia and Winnie Mae Murphree, allegedly captured three Union soldiers at gunpoint while they slept and delivered them to Forrest. During the 1880s, Blount County became a major iron-producing area that helped fuel the steel industry in Oneonta is the Blount County seat and the Blount County Courthouse in Oneontaneighboring Birmingham. In 1937 J. Breck Musgrove made history when he opened Alabama's only underground "speakeasy" nightclub and casino at Bangor Cave in Blount County. Occupying the front of the cave, the illegal club attracted dancers, gamblers, and criminals before Governor Bibb Graves ordered it closed.

Major Cities and Demographics 

Due to its proximity to Birmingham, Blount County is the sixth fastest growing county in Alabama. At the time of the 2000 Census, Blount County recorded a population of 51,024, a 30 percent increase from the 1990 Census. According to U.S. Census Bureau Estimates, the 2006 population was 56,436, with 97.1 percent White, 1.5 percent African-American, and 6.4 percent Hispanic. The county seat, Oneonta, had an estimated population of 6,537 in 2005, an increase of 17 percent from 2000. Other significant population centers, based on 2000 Census figures, include Blountsville (1,944), Altoona (970), Snead (830), Susan Moore (804), and Garden City (590). In 2003 the median household income was $37,659, compared with $36,131 for the rest of the state. The per capita income was $16,325 in 1999, compared with $18,189 for the rest of the state.

Economy 

A train hauls coal from the Warrior Coal Coal TrainDuring the nineteenth century, farming was the prevailing occupation in Blount County, with cotton, corn, and wheat being the major crops. After the Civil War, iron ore mined in Blount County helped feed the industrialization boom in Birmingham. In 1889, Henry DeBardeleben and James Sloss purchased Champion Mines and brought the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to the area. From 1925 to 1967, the mine supplied raw materials to the Woodward, TCI, and Sloss furnaces in Birmingham and the Republic Furnace in Gadsden. The decline of the steel industry in Birmingham during the 1970s affected Blount County as thousands lost jobs.

The workforce in present day Blount County is made up of the following occupations: 23.6 percent management and professional; 23.6 percent sales and office; 21.8 percent production, transportation, and material moving; 18.1 percent construction, extraction, and maintenance; 11.8 percent service occupations; and 1 percent forestry, fishing, and agriculture.

The Blount County School System currently employees approximately 450 teachers and administrators who serve more than 7,000 students in 16 schools. In addition, the Oneonta City School System employs approximately 85 teachers and administrators who serve more than 1,200 students in two schools.

Geography 

Blount County is 39th largest among Alabama counties Blount County MapComprising approximately 643 square miles, Blount County lies in the northeastern area of the state within the Appalachian Plateau. It is bounded to the north by Marshall County , to the east by Etowah County, to the southeast by St. Clair County, to the southwest by Jefferson and Walker counties, and to the west by Cullman County. The Locust Fork and Mulberry Fork, two major tributaries of the Black Warrior River, run along the western border and the center of the county. Ebell Mountain and part of Sand Mountain lie in the northeastern area of the county. Interstate 65 is Blount County's major transportation route, running north-south in the western edge of the county. U.S. 31 and 231 are the county's other major transportation arteries.

Events and Places of Interest 

Swann Covered Bridge spans the Locust Fork of Swann Covered BridgeBlount County's rolling hills and valleys are ideal for outdoor recreational areas. The area is home to several caves including Bangor Cave, which once held the distinction of being Alabama's only underground nightclub, and Rickwood Caverns. Rickwood Caverns, estimated to be over 260 million years old, was carved from an ocean bed and features shell fragments and fossils of marine life along the cavern ceiling and walls. The mile long cavern is home to underground pools and marine life such as blind cave fish.

Palisades Park, located atop 1,300-foot Ebell Mountain, features a pioneer village, arboretum, and amphitheater, while the rock bluffs are ideal for rock climbing and scenic views. The Locust and Mulberry Forks of the Black Warrior River are renowned for their thrilling Class II and III rapids which attract kayakers and canoers from all over the country. Each spring, Alabama paddlers Bangor Cave, ca. 1930s. The entrance to the Bangor Cave, ca. 1930host the Alabama Cup which is made up of three events, the Mulberry Fork Canoe and Kayak Races, the Locust Fork Invitational, and the Locust Fork Classic. Blount County is likewise home to several covered bridges including the Swann Covered Bridge, the Horton Mill Covered Bridge, and the Easley Covered Bridge, all constructed during the 1920s.

Additional  Resources   

Heritage of Blount County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Pub. Consultants, Inc., 1999

Junior Blount County Historical Society. Blount County, Glimpses from the Past. Blount, County: The Society, 1965.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published July 6, 2007
Last updated December 10, 2009