PICKENS COUNTY ALABAMA

Pickens County Alabama

Pickens County Alabama Map
Pickens County Alabama Map

Pickens County Alabama population is 19,746. Its county seat is Carrollton Alabama.

Pickens County was established on December 20, 1820, and named for revolutionary war hero General Andrew Pickens of South Carolina. The county seat was relocated from Pickensville to Carrollton in 1830. The first courthouse in Carrollton was burned on April 5, 1865, by troops of Union General John T. Croxton.

Pickens County is home to the Aliceville Museum and Cultural Center which houses artifacts from the Aliceville WWII POW camp. The county also contains Aliceville Lake and part of the Tombigbee River.

Pickens County Alabama Cities:

Aliceville Alabama

Aliceville is a city in Pickens County, Alabama, United States, located thirty-six miles west of Tuscaloosa. At the 2010 census its population was 2,486, down from 2,567 in 2000. Founded in the first decade of the 20th century and incorporated in 1907, the city has become notable for its World War II-era prisoner-of-war camp, Camp Aliceville. Since 1930, it has been the largest municipality in Pickens County

Camp Aliceville War Camp

The construction of Camp Aliceville began in August 1942 and was completed by December. The camp began receiving German POWs, at first mostly from Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corps, in June 1943. It comprised 400 wood-frame barracks, which could hold as many as 6,000 prisoners and 900 Army personnel. Aliceville was the largest of the eleven POW camps in the Southeastern U.S. By the end of the war Camp Aliceville held German prisoners captured in many different locations.  September 30, 1945. The camp was dismantled and sold for scrap after the war, and its only remaining trace is an old stone chimney.

Reform Alabama

Many people have wondered how the city of Reform, Alabama came by its most unusual name. In 1819 there was a rawhide settlement where Reform now stands- a settlement with a few shanties and a reputation for being rough and rowdy. Lorenzo Dow, an itinerant Methodist preacher, visited and attempted to hold a religious revival. He met with no encouragement from the local men who were not very religiously minded. With disgust Parson Dow closed the religious service he was attempting to conduct, saddled his horse, mounted it, and was riding away when one of the men called after him, “Parson, we don’t have a name for our town; what would you suggest?” The Parson shouted, “Reform”, and rode away. The Reform name stuck.

The town of Reform was incorporated in 1898 and has been a town of which the people have been proud. The people have not lost the pioneer spirit, and the optimism with that spirit is still evident. They appreciate the opportunity to play a part in improving this, their community.

Pickens County Alabama Towns:

Carrollton Alabama

Carrollton was founded on 80 acres of land given to Pickens County by the federal government in 1830 to establish a county seat, land formerly occupied by the Choctaws. The town was named after Charles Carroll of Maryland, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, and was officially incorporated on January 15, 1831. The first county courthouse was burned on April 5, 1865 by Union troops during the Civil War, and the second in 1876, by arson. It was replaced with a new structure in 1877 that was used until 1994, when a new facility was built. The old courthouse building still stands.

Ethelsville Alabama

Ethelsville, originally called Yorkville, was one of the earliest settlements in the state and also the location of the first Baptist church in Pickens County. It took its current name from Ethel Hancock, who was the daughter of local physician J. T. Hancock. His son Thomas was the town’s first postmaster. The town was incorporated in 1952 or 1956, depending on the source. It was still an active railroad stop when it was incorporated, with four freight trains and six passenger trains stopping there daily. After the railroad no longer stopped in Ethelsville, the population began to decline.

Gordo Alabama

Gordo is a town in Pickens County. At the 2010 census the population was 1,750, up from 1,677 in 2000. It was the second largest town in Pickens County as of 2010, taking the title from Reform, which it previously held in 1960 and 1970. The town incorporated in 1900.

The Town of Gordo is situated astride U. S. Highway 82 in West Alabama just 25 miles from the Mississippi border. The first settlers to the Gordo area arrived in the 1830’s. The community grew around an area that was called Crossroads, which was at the intersection of the Columbus-Tuscaloosa and Vienna-Fayette stagecoach roads, which today is located one mile northeast of Highway 82. The community relocated to the area around the new Mobile and Ohio Railroad in 1898. The town incorporated in 1900-01 and the first Mayor was John J. Windham. In 1910, Gordo was the largest town in Pickens County with a population of 707.

Gordo is also home to a fast growing community of artist and is becoming a destination for groups that want to enjoy this art in our three art studios, Studio 121, Studio 150 and Studio 134.

Gordo has held an annual Mule Day/Chickenfest celebration the first week of June since 1988. It features a parade, musical entertainment, food vendors, and a carnival.
The Going-Craft House, Benevola Community, is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

A post office called Gordo has been in operation since 1847. The name of the town likely commemorates the 1847 Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican–American War.

McMullen Alabama

McMullen is a town in Pickens County. The population was 10 at the 2010 census, down from 66 in 2000. It incorporated around 1976. A series of natural disasters has caused the population to dwindle. As of 2010, it is the smallest incorporated town in the state of Alabama.

Memphis Alabama

Memphis is located in southwestern Pickens County in the west-central part of the state on the Tombigbee River just east of the Mississippi border. The population in Memphis according to the 2010 Census was 29. Of that number, 100.0 percent of respondents identified themselves as African American.
Memphis was established in 1841 by James William Wallis. It had been a thriving port town on the Tombigbee River. It had a ferry that also was called Memphis, and the busiest landing was Jackson’s Landing. Cotton was the main export item, and steamboats brought in essential supplies.

Pickensville Alabama

Pickensville is the oldest town in Pickens County, with a post office established in 1823. The town was named county seat even before it incorporated in 1825. It lost its designation as county seat in 1830 to Carrolton.

Pickensville Campground is located just west of Pickensville, Alabama, on Aliceville Lake on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. This campground boasts both a campground and day use area with many activities and amenities for families and outdoor enthusiasts. Visitors enjoy hunting, fishing, picnicking, water sports and watching the barges go by on the waterway.

Pickens County Alabama Communities:

Beards Mill Alabama

Beards Mill, also known as Beard, is an unincorporated community in Pickens County.

Benevola Alabama

Benevola is an unincorporated community in Pickens County.
Lanier’s Mill Skirmish near Benevola.

Cochrane Alabama

Cochrane is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. Cochrane is named for John T. Cochrane, the founder of Aliceville, Alabama. Cochrane served as the superintendent of the Tuscaloosa Belt Line, which was part of the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad. A post office operated under the name Cochrane from 1907 to 1972.

The John T. Milner Bridge, located in Cochrane, was the first toll bridge in Alabama to be officially dedicated.

Coal Fire Alabama

Coal Fire, also known as Cold Fire, Coalfire, and Fundee, is an unincorporated community in Pickens County.The community was first known as Fundee, which was a portmanteau of two local family names, the Funderburks and the DeLoaches. It was then renamed for a local creek, which has been recorded as both Coal Fire and Cold Fire. A post office called Coal Fire was established in 1871, and remained in operation until being discontinued in 1927.

Dancy Alabama

Dancy is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. Dancy is named for E. C. Dancy, who was a local physician. A post office operated under the name Dancy from 1892 to 1964.

Lubbub Alabama

Lubbub is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. Lubbub is located along Alabama State Route 159, 8.8 miles north of Gordo.Lubbub is named after the nearby Lubbub Creek. The name Lubbub comes from the Choctaw word lahba, which means “warm”. A post office operated under the name Lubbub from 1834 to 1907.

McShan Alabama

McShan is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. It was named to honor the McShan Lumber Company, which moved to the location in 1844.

Olney Alabama

Olney is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. Olney was home to a now defunct educational institution called the Senaka Academy.

Macedonia Alabama

Macedonia is a census-designated place and former town in Pickens County. The population was 292 at the 2010 census, up from 291 in 2000. The town was incorporated in 1994, but disincorporated in 2001. It was reclassified as a census-designated place (CDP) for 2010.

Palmetto Alabama

Palmetto is an unincorporated community in northeastern Pickens County. Palmetto was named for Palmetto, another unincorporated community in South Carolina. A post office operated under the name Palmetto from 1853 to 1905.

Sapps Alabama

Sapps is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. A post office operated under the name Sapps from 1893 to 1905.

Vienna Alabama

Vienna is an unincorporated community about 6 miles from Mississippi in Pickens County. It was a prosperous river port from the 1830s until the American Civil War, situated along the eastern shore of the Tombigbee River on the southwestern border of the county. It declined rapidly in importance with the building of a railroad through Pickens County following the war. In 1917 the post office closed and this marked the end of Vienna’s official status as a town. Vienna was listed as an incorporated community in the U.S. Censuses of 1900 and 1910. It disincorporated before 1920 and has not appeared on the census since.

Zion Alabama

Zion is an unincorporated community in Pickens County. Zion is located along Alabama State Route 159, 8.0 miles north of Gordo.

Pickens County Alabama Historic Destinations

Tom Bevill Visitor Center and Snagboat Montgomery – Carrolton Alabama

Parks E. Ball House – Aliceville Alabama

Aliceville Museum – Aliceville Alabama

 

Pickens County Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage

Site name Date listed City or Town Built or Established NRHP/NHL
1 Parks E. Ball Plantation October 19, 1979 Aliceville c. 1826 NRHP
2 Beard-McShan House (Melrose Plantation) October 19, 1979 Reform vicinity 1840
3 First Presbyterian Church September 25, 2008 Aliceville c.
4 Going-Craft House October 17, 1991 Gordo vicinity c. 1829
5 Ingleside Plantation January 24, 2008 Aliceville 1849
6 Mancel-Gentry House (The White House) February 20, 1986 Aliceville c. 1913
7 Merchants and Farmers Bank Building April 14, 1982 Aliceville 1911
8 John Turner Milner Bridge November 5, 1976 Tombigbee River 1927
9 Pickens County Courthouse July 23, 1976 Carrollton 1877 NRHP
10 Pickensville Methodist Church June 9, 1977 Pickensville 1842
11 Pickensville Rosenwald School December 16, 2010 Pickensville c. 1925–1926
12 Pilgrim’s Rest Primitive Baptist Church October 1, 1982 Carrollton 1882
13 James M. Summerville House (Plantation House) August 22, 1985 Aliceville 1903–05

Source: Wikipedia contributors, “Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage by county (Pickens–Winston),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Pickens County Alabama Zip Codes:

35461, 35481, 35466, 35447, 35442

Pickens County Alabama Popular Searches

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Pickens County Alabama Weblinks:


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