Escambia County


Located in south Alabama on the Florida border, Escambia County is home to portions of the Conecuh National Forest and the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation, the only recognized tribe in the state of Alabama. The county is governed by an elected five-member commission and includes five incorporated communities.

· Founding Date: December 10, 1868
· Area: 951 square miles
· Population: 37,849 (2006 Census Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Conecuh River
· Major Highways: I-65, U.S. 31, U.S. 29
· County Seat: Brewton
· Largest City: Atmore

History 

The current Escambia County courthouse in Brewton was Escambia County CourthouseEscambia County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 10, 1868, from portions of Baldwin and Conecuh counties. Fort Crawford was established in 1816 to monitor the activities of the Spanish in Florida and curb Creek Indian hostilities. The majority of the Creek Indians were removed in the 1830s, but the ancestors of those who became known as the Poarch Creek remained on their tribal lands. The only federally recognized tribe in the state, they continue to live in and around their reservation in Poarch, where they operate a series of casinos. In 1861, the town of Pollard was established at the juncture of the Alabama & Florida and the Mobile & Great Northern railroad lines. Steamboats once traversed the Conecuh River carrying cargo to and from Pollard. The town was, in its heyday, an important rail center and was a vital Confederate military post during the Civil War. In January 1865, Pollard was the site of a battle between Confederate troops under Gen. J. H. Clanton and a force of federal raiders. The town was later burned. One of the South's greatest train robberies happened near Pollard on September 2, 1890, when the notorious "Robin Hood of Alabama," Rube Burrows, forced the engineer to stop the train on the trestle across Big Escambia Creek. Burrows made his Rube Burrows, the "Robin Hood of Alabama," was Rube Burrowsgetaway but was trailed through Monroe County into Marengo County, where he was killed in a gun battle. Brewton, the county seat, is the birthplace of the legend of Railroad Bill. Stories about Railroad Bill, an armed African American vagrant who rode the boxcars between Flomaton and Mobile, surfaced in 1895 along the tracks of the Louisville & Nashville line. The legend of Railroad Bill has been immortalized in song, theater, and fiction.

Major Cities and Demographics 

According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 2006 population of Escambia county was 37,849, with 64.3 percent White, 31.7 percent African-American, 2.9 percent American Indian, and 1 percent Hispanic. In 2004 the median household income was $29,330, compared with $37,062 for the state as a whole. The per capita income was $14,396 in 1999, compared with $18,189 for the state. The county seat Brewton, had an estimated population of 5,326 in 2006. Other population centers include Atmore (7,485), Flomaton (1,547), and Pollard (119).

Economy 

An Escambia County dairy cow milking operation, ca. Dairy CattleFor most of the twentieth century, the pine timber industry has been the dominant industry in the county, and Swift Lumber Company remains one of the largest employers in the area. For many years, Vanity Fair lingerie operated a manufacturing plant in the city of Atmore, but it closed in the late 1990s. In 1952, oil was discovered in the town of Pollard.

The workforce in present-day Escambia County consists of the following occupations: 25.4 percent production, transportation, and material moving; 24.3 percent sales and office; 22.6 percent management and professional; 13.9 percent service industry; 12 percent construction, extraction, and maintenance; and less than 2 percent fishing and agriculture. The Escambia County School system currently employs 304 who serve more than 4,700 students in 14 schools. In addition, the Brewton City school system employs 84 teachers who serve more than 1,322 in three schools. Escambia County is home to Jefferson Davis Community College, a two-year public coeducational institution.

Geography 

Escambia County is 12th in size among Alabama Escambia County MapComprising approximately 951 square miles, Escambia County lies in the southern area of the state, wholly within the Coastal Plain physiographic section. It is bounded to the east by Covington County, to the south by Escambia County, Florida, to the west by Baldwin and Monroe counties, and to the north by Conecuh County. A portion of the Conecuh National Forest is located in the southeastern corner of the county.

The Conecuh River flows southwest through the eastern half of the county, and several of its tributaries, including Burnt Corn, Murder, Cedar, and Little and Big Escambia Creeks, intersect the area. Interstate 65 runs north-south in the western portion of the county, and U.S. 31 and U.S 29 run east-west through the eastern and southern half of the county.

Events and Places of Interest 

Atmore is home to the Poarch Band Creek Indian Reservation, which offers casino gambling. Every November, the reservation hosts the Poarch Creek Band Indian Pow Wow. Every summer, the town of Brewton hosts its annual Blueberry Festival at Burnt Corn Creek Park.

Additional Resources  

Heritage of Escambia County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 2002.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published August 29, 2007
Last updated December 14, 2009