Dallas County


Selma to Montgomery marchers crossed the Alabama River Crossing Edmund Pettus BridgeA center of the civil-rights struggle, Dallas County is home to Selma, starting point of the famous Selma-to-Montgomery March. The county was also the site of Cahaba, the state's first capital as well as the largest historic district in Alabama. The county is governed by an elected four-member commission and includes four incorporated communities.

· Founding Date: February 9, 1818
· Area: 975 square miles
· Population: 43,945 (2006 Census Bureau    estimate)
· Major Waterways: Alabama River, Cahaba River
· Major Highways: U.S. 80
· County Seat: Selma
· Largest City: Selma

History 

Cahawba, the first state capital of Alabama, was Dallas County CourthouseDallas County was created by an act of the territorial legislature on February 9, 1818, almost two years before Alabama became a state. In 1820, Cahaba, a small town located in central Dallas County at the junction of the Cahaba River and the Alabama River, was chosen as the county seat and the capital of the state. The small town soon became a bustling economic and political center, but declined after the seat of state government moved to Tuscaloosa in 1825. During the 1840s and 1850s the town again attained prominence as a center of the cotton industry, but it was virtually abandoned after the Civil War, when the county seat was moved to Selma. The town of Selma, located on a bluff overlooking the Alabama River, was officially recorded in 1732 as Ecor Bienville, then later as the Moore's Bluff settlement. It was chartered in 1819 by William Rufus King, state senator and vice president to Franklin Pierce. Given its location on the Alabama River, Dallas County quickly developed as an important cotton-producing area, typified by large-scale plantation agriculture.

The naval foundry in Selma played a key Selma Naval FoundrySelma played an important part in the Civil War as a center of the munitions industry. After the fall of New Orleans in 1862, Confederate Chief of Ordinance Josiah Gorgas ordered Mobile's Mount Vernon Arsenal moved to the more central location of Selma. The Selma Naval Ordnance Works was responsible for manufacturing artillery, and the Confederate Naval Yard constructed the CSS Tennessee to defend Mobile Bay. It is estimated that toward the end of the war the 10,000 workers employed in various Selma factories were producing one-half of the cannons and two-thirds of the ammunition used by Confederate forces. In addition to iron and munitions, the town also produced nitre, used in the making of gunpowder, from nearby limestone caves. Because of its industrial importance, Selma became a crucial target for Union forces. After several thwarted attempts, Union forces under General J. H. Wilson finally reached Selma in April 1865, where they defeated Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's troops and destroyed the arsenal and factories. The abandoned city of Cahaba also played a role in the war as home of the infamous Confederate prison, Castle Morgan. After the fall of Selma, more than 1,000 Union prisoners kept at Cahaba died when the steamer used to transport them back north, the Sultana, exploded and sank in the Mississippi River.

State troopers and sheriff's deputies attack demonstrators on Bloody SundayDuring the 1960s, Selma became an important center of the civil rights movement. The first voter-registration drives, organized in 1960, were met with massive resistance by the white community. In 1965, Dallas County received national media attention when Alabama troopers attacked civil-rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on what became known as "Bloody Sunday" during the Selma-to-Montgomery March. In response to the events, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Major Cities and Demographics 

At the time of the 2000 Census, Dallas County recorded a population of 46,365. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 2006 population was 43,945, with 32.4 percent White, 66.9 percent African American, and less than 1 percent Hispanic. In 2004, the median household income was $24,949, compared with $37,062 for the state as a whole. The per capita income was $13,638 in 1999, compared with $18,189 for the state as a whole. The county seat, Selma, had an estimated population of 19,265 in 2006. Other towns in the area are Valley Grande (3,887), Benton (1,215), and Orrville (213).

Economy 

Farm workers gathering hay in Dallas County, ca. Gathering HayDallas County's early economy was tied to the plantation agriculture system that typified the Black Belt. In addition, Selma's proximity to the Alabama River made it a strong economic area during the antebellum period, as steamboats were used to transport the cotton to and from warehouses along the river. In 1836, Dallas County's economy received a boost when the state chartered the Selma and Tennessee Railroad to connect the Alabama and Tennessee Rivers. The railroad eventually connected Selma to Anniston and linked cotton farmers in north Alabama to Mobile via the Alabama River at Selma. During the Civil War, 10,000 workers were employed in the various munitions and iron factories that sprang up in Selma in response to the Confederate war effort. Present-day employers include International Paper, Rayco Industrial, and Bush Hog. The economy of Selma has steadily declined since the end of the Civil War, and today it remains one of Alabama's poorest counties with 27.4 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.

Originally named the Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological Selma University The workforce in present-day Dallas County is made up of the following occupations: 24.6 percent management and professional, 23.9 percent sales and office, 17.9 percent production, transportation, and material moving, 15.9 percent service industry, 10.8 percent construction, extraction, and maintenance, and less than 1 percent fishing and agriculture. The Dallas County school system currently employs 293 teachers who serve more than 4,500 students in 14 schools. In addition, the Selma City School system employs 256 teachers who serve more than 4,000 students in 13 schools. The county is home to George C. Wallace State Community College, a two-year public coeducational institution, as well as the private religiously affiliated Selma University and Concordia College.

Geography 

Dallas County is 11th in size among Alabama Dallas County MapComprising approximately 975 square miles, Dallas County lies in the west-central area of the state, wholly within the Coastal Plain physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Perry and Chilton counties, to the east by Autauga and Lowndes couties, to the south by Wilcox County, and the west by Marengo County. A small portion of the northwest corner of the county lies within the Talladega National Forest.

The Alabama River runs from north to south through the center of the county, and its tributaries Cedar Creek and Bear Creek traverse the southern and southwestern portions of the county. The Cahaba River joins the Alabama on its northern bank just a few miles south of Selma, and its tributary, Oakmulgee Creek, runs along to the northwestern border of Dallas County. U.S. 80, running east-west through the center of the county, is the county's major transportation route. Craig Field Airport is the county's only public airport.

Events and Places of Interest 

Sturdivant Hall in Selma, northeast Dallas County, was Sturdivant HallThe Dallas County city of Selma is home to the state's largest historic district, with more than 1,250 structures listed on the state and national historic registers. Some of the more notable structures include the St. James Hotel, The Dawson-Vaughan House (home of Elodie Todd, sister-in-law of Abraham Lincoln), and Sturdivant Hall. Selma also offers visitors a number of exhibits relating to the civil-rights movement at the Old Depot Museum, the National Voting Rights Museum, and Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, headquarters of the voting-rights marches. Selma's Old Live Oak Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Paul M. Grist State Park in northern Dallas Paul M. Grist State ParkEach spring, Selma hosts the Annual Pilgrimage, which offers tours of privately owned historic homes, a church tour, an antique show and sale, a bus tour of Old Town, and a twilight living history tour at Old Live Oak cemetery. In October, Selma hosts the Tall Tellin' Festival. Founded in 1978 by renowned Alabama storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham, the Festival features music, food, and some of the top storytellers in the nation. Also in October is the Selma annual Riverfront Market Day which includes vendors, music, and arts and crafts.

Old Cahawha, in central Dallas County, was the Old CahawbaVisitors can tour the ruins of the first state capital at the Old Cahawba historical park, billed as "Alabama's most famous Ghost Town." The site is maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission and is open daily. Visitors can tour the abandoned town themselves or take a guided tour.

Additional Sources  

Heritage of Dallas County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 2004.

Jackson, Walter M. The Story of Selma. Birmingham, Ala.: The Birmingham Printing Company, 1954.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published August 30, 2007
Last updated January 21, 2010