Autauga County, Alabama

Autauga County, Alabama is a of the  of. As of the the population was 43,671. Its is.

History
Autauga County was established on, by an act of Alabama Territorial Legislature (one year before Alabama was admitted as a State). As established, the county included present-day Autauga County, as well as and. At the time, (aka, )  lived here, primarily in a village named Atagi (meaning "pure water") situated on the banks of a creek by the same name (called "Pearl Water Creek" by settlers). Autaugas were members of the tribe. They sent many warriors to resist 's invasion in the Creek War. This county was part of the territory ceded by the Creeks in the in. The first county seat was at, but the court only met there long enough to select a permanent seat at , built on the former site of Atagi in the southeast corner of the county. In the county seat was moved to a more central location at  and the town of Washington dwindled until it was completely deserted in the late.

arrived in Autauga County in and founded the new town of Prattville, north of Atagi on the fall line of Autauga Creek. His factory quickly became the largest manufacturer of gins in the world and the first major industry in Alabama. It was at his factory, and with his financial backing, that the, a fighting unit for the was organized in anticipation of. Other units formed in Autauga County included the Autauga Rifles (Autaugaville), The John Steele Guards (western Autauga Co.) and the Varina Rifles (northern Autauga Co.). None of the fighting of the Civil War reached Autauga County and Pratt was able to secure payment of debts from Northern accounts soon after the war, lessening the disabling effects of the period in the county.

, a former slave belonging to Daniel Pratt bought a house in the center of Prattville immediately after  and was one of the founding investors in Pratt's. The presence of such a prominent family owning land in an Alabama city as early as the  is exceptional.

In and  Elmore and Chilton counties were split off from Autauga, and the county seat was moved to the population center of Prattville, where a new courthouse was completed by local builder George L. Smith in. In a new, larger courthouse was erected in a modified Richardsonian Romanesque style a block north of the older one. The building was designed by Bruce Architectural Co. of and built by Dobson & Bynum of.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,566 km² (604 square miles). Nearly 1,544 km² (596 sq mi) of it is land, and 22 km² (8 sq mi) of it (1.40%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-65.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 31.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 82.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Alabama 14.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Alabama 143.svg|20px]]

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of, there were 43,671 people, 16,003 households, and 12,354 families residing in the county. The was 28/km² (73/sq mi). There were 17,662 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (30/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 80.65%, 17.11% or , 0.44% , 0.46% , 0.03% , 0.38% from , and 0.93% from two or more races. Nearly 1.40% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 16,003 households, out of which 39.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were living together, 13.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.80% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71, and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out with 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,013, and the median income for a family was $48,458. Males had a median income of $35,168 versus $22,859 for females. The for the county was $18,518. About 8.20% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

 * (part - some of Millbrook is in )
 * (part - some of Prattville is in )
 * (part - some of Millbrook is in )
 * (part - some of Prattville is in )

Education
See

Notable residents

 * Samuel Smith Harris, (1841-1888), born in Autauga County,, founder and editor of Living Word magazine, and  of the Diocese of Michigan.