Click Image to Enlarge
Alabama Counties
Alabama currently has sixty-seven counties. The oldest county, Washington, was created on June 4, 1800, when what is now Alabama was then part of the Mississippi Territory. The newest county is Houston, created on February 9, 1903.Macon County, Alabama History
Macon County Education, Geography, and History
Macon County is a county in the state of Alabama. Based on the 2010 census, the
population was 21,452. Macon County was created
on December 18, 1832, from territory acquired from the last cession of
the Creek Indians, March 24, 1832. The county seat and only city is
Tuskegee. The county was named is in honor of Nathaniel Macon, a member of the United States Senate from North Carolina.
Developed for cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, the county is considered within the Black Belt of the South. It has had
a majority-black population since before the American Civil War.
In the 2004 US Presidential Election, Macon had the third-highest number of voters in the state for the Democratic Senator John Kerry. It
was the setting of the 1974 movie, Macon County Line.
Etymology - Origin of Macon County Name
Macon county was named for Nathaniel Macon, a distinguished soldier and statesman from North Carolina.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Macon County History
Macon County, Alabama
Macon county was formed by the Alabama legislature on December 18,
1832 from territory acquired from the last cession of the Creek
Indians, March 24, 1832. Macon county was named for Nathaniel Macon, a distinguished soldier and statesman from North Carolina. Macon County received its present dimensions in 1866. The
county is located in the east-central portion of the state, and is bordered by Elmore, Tallapoosa, Lee, Russell, Bullock, and Montgomery Counties. It encompasses 614 square miles. The county seat is located at Tuskegee, which means "warrior" in the Muskhogean dialect of the Creek Indian language. Tuskegee is also the site of Tuskegee University. Other towns and communities include Shorter, Franklin, and Notasulga. The Tuskegee National Forest is located in Macon County.
Before 1983, Macon County was primarily known as the home of historic Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, and its noted founder and first president, Dr. Booker T. Washington. The quiet hamlet began to awaken in 1983 when pari-mutuel gambling arrived in the form of Victory Land greyhound racing.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 613 square miles (1,590 km2), of which 609 square miles (1,580 km2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11 km2) (0.7%) is water.
The Tallapoosa River and its lower tributaries run throughout Macon County and are home to 120 species of fish and 31 species of mussel. The Tuskegee National Forest consists of 11,000 acres of former farmland that was reforested and redeveloped for recreational use in the 1930s.
Places of interest
Macon County is home to the Tuskegee University, a historically black college; Tuskegee National Forest, Tuskegee Lake, the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Museum, and Moton Field, the training site of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Education
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- North: Tallapoosa County
- Northeast: Lee County
- East: Russell County
- South: Bullock County
- Southwest: Montgomery County
- Northwest: Elmore County
Click Image to Enlarge
