Coosa County


Located in east-central Alabama, Coosa County is home to several recreational water resources, including Lakes Lay, Martin, and Mitchell. During the late twentieth century, the county was a center of the textile industry. The county is governed by an elected five-member commission and includes three incorporated communities.

· Founding Date: December 18, 1832
· Area: 657 square miles
· Population: 11,044 (2006 Census Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Coosa River
· Major Highways: U.S. 280, U.S. 231
· County Seat: Rockford
· Largest City: Goodwater

History 

The Coosa County courthouse is located in the Coosa County CourthouseCoosa County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 18, 1832. The county was one of 14 counties organized from lands ceded by the Creek Indians in the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta. A site on Hatchet Creek was chosen as the county seat and given the name Lexington. In 1835 the name was changed to Rockford. The first railroad, the Central Railway of Georgia, was completed in 1888 at the town of Goodwater. The Coosa River has long played an important part in the history of the county. In 1914, the Alabama Power Company constructed Lay Dam on the Coosa River, creating Lay Lake in the northwestern corner of the county. In 1920, Alabama Power built Mitchell Dam on the Coosa, creating Mitchell Lake. In 1926, Alabama Power Company constructed the Thomas W. Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River, resulting in the formation of Lake Martin, a portion of which lies in the southeastern corner of the county.

Major Cities and Demographics 

Goodwater, located in northeast Coosa County, has a GoodwaterAt the time of the 2000 census Coosa County recorded a population of 12,202, a 10.3-percent increase from the 1990 census population of 11,063. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 2006 population was 11,044, with 67.6 percent White, 31.6 percent African American, and 1.5 percent Hispanic. In 2004 the median household income was $30,173, compared with $37,062 for the remainder of the state. The per capita income in 1999 was $14,875, compared with $18,189 for the state. The county seat, Rockford, had an estimated population of 400 in 2006. The only other significant population center in the county is Goodwater (1,552).

Economy 

From a collection of the Alabama Superintendent of Coosa County FarmerDuring the antebellum period, cotton was the major agricultural product in Coosa County. Farmers were forced to diversify in the post-Civil War years and turned to raising livestock as well as corn, wheat, and oats as supplemental crops. Given the county's many waterways, gristmills were a popular entrepreneurial endeavor. In 1874 the Central Railway of Georgia ran a spur to Goodwater, and the town became the commercial center of Coosa County. A line from Goodwater to Birmingham was completed in 1888, linking the town to the industrial and commercial hub of Alabama.

In 1966 textile manufacturer Avondale Mills opened a plant in Coosa County, providing the county with several hundred jobs in its spinning facilities. In 1999, the plant employed 350 workers and was producing 350,000 pounds of yarn per year. In May 2006, Avondale Mills announced plans to close its Coosa County plant. One month later it was announced that the plant had been sold to Parkman Mills, Inc. of North Carolina. Madix Inc., a manufacturer of office and store fixtures, partitions, and shelving, constructed a plant in Goodwater in the 1990s. Other business include Sterling Lumber Company, a sawmill and planing company, and Wingfield Engineering, a custom controls manufacturer and fabricator company.

The workforce in Coosa County in 2000 consisted of 34.3 percent employed in production, transportation, and maintenance; 19.8 percent in sales and office work; 16.3 percent in management and professional occupations; 14.6 percent in services; 14.3 percent in construction and extraction, and less than 1 percent in forestry, fishing, and agriculture. The Coosa County School System currently employs approximately 100 teachers who serve more than 1,700 students in six schools.

Geography 

Coosa County is 37th in size among Alabama Coosa County MapEncompassing approximately 657 square miles, Coosa County lies wholly within the Piedmont physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Talladega and Clay counties, to the east by Tallapoosa County, to the south by Elmore County, and to the west by Chilton and Shelby counties.

The Coosa River runs along the western border of the county, and several of its tributaries, including Paint, Weogufka, Hatchet, Swamp, and Weoka creeks, cross the county. The county's major transportation routes are U.S. 280, which runs north-south in the northeastern corner of the county, and U.S. 231, which runs north-south through the center of the county. Coosa County Airport in Goodwater is the county's only public airport.

Events and Place s o f Interest   

A bird dog at the Five Star Plantation, Bird DogFive Star Plantation, built in 1919 in Kellyton, just south of Goodwater, is a 5,000-acre hunting reserve specializing in deer, turkey, and quail hunts. Lay, Martin, and Mitchell lakes offer some of the best fishing in the state, including spotted, striped, and largemouth bass, crappie, bream, and catfish. The three lakes also host several fishing tournaments. Old Jail, built around 1825, located in Rockford, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest jail in Alabama.

Additional Resources 

Brewer, George. History of Coosa County, Alabama. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1987.

Heritage of Coosa County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1999.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published August 29, 2007
Last updated December 10, 2009