Montgomery County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 228,954, making it the seventh-most populous county in Alabama. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Montgomery, the state capital. Montgomery County is included in the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Montgomery County was established by dividing Monroe County on December 6, 1816, by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature. It is named for Lemuel P. Montgomery, a young U.S. Army officer killed at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the final battle of the Creek Indian war, which was waged concurrently with the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The city of Montgomery, which is the

, is named for

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

, an

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Over much of the 19th century great wealth was derived from the cotton crop, with the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

producing a temporary setback. More lasting trouble came in 1914 with the arrival of the boll weevil, which became very destructive to the cotton harvest from 1915 on. By the 1940s county farms earned more from cattle than cotton.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.

Major highways

* Interstate 65 * Interstate 85 * Interstate 685 (future) * U.S. Highway 31 * U.S. Highway 80 * U.S. Highway 82 * U.S. Highway 231 * U.S. Highway 331 * State Route 21 * State Route 94 * State Route 108 * State Route 110 * State Route 126 * State Route 152 * State Route 271 * State Route 293

Transit

* Montgomery Area Transit System

Adjacent counties

* Elmore County (north) * Macon County (northeast) * Bullock County (east) * Pike County (southeast) *

Crenshaw County Crenshaw County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located immediately south of the Montgomery metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,194. Its county seat is Luverne. ...

(southwest) * Lowndes County (west) * Autauga County (northwest)

National protected area

* Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail (part)

Demographics

2020 Census

As of the 2020 census, there were 228,954 people, 93,223 households, and 56,961 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was There were 105,293 housing units.

2010 census

The 2010 census reported the following county population: *54.7%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

*39.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

*3.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) *1.3% Two or more races *1.2% Asian *0.3% Native American *0.0%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 223,510 persons, 86,068 households, and 56,804 families in the county. The

was . There were 95,437 housing units, at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 48.85%

, 48.58%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.99% Asian, 0.25% Native American, 0.03%

, 0.35% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races.

Hispanics The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly appli ...

and Latinos, of any race, made up 1.19% of the population. There were 86,068 households, 32.20% of which included children under the age of 18, 43.80% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 18.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.00% were non-families. Single-persons households were 29.50% of the total; 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46. The average family size was 3.06. Persons younger than 18 were 25.80% of the population; those 18–24, 11.70%; 25–44, 29.80%; 45–64, 20.90%; and 65 and older, 11.80%. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 86.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,962, and the median income for a family was $44,669. Males had a median income of $32,018; females, $24,921. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,358. About 13.50% of families and 17.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 25.10% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those 65 and older.

Politics

Montgomery County is a strongly Democratic county like most of the Black Belt in Alabama. The last Republican to win the county was George H.W. Bush in 1992. Infrastructure inside Montgomery County includes both Interstate 85 and 65 along with shipping hubs on the

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa River, Tallapoosa and Coosa River, Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Over a co ...

and rail hubs located in the City of Montgomery. The Montgomery Regional Airport also serves as a major airport for the State of Alabama and the Southeastern US for passenger service, military aviation, and commercial aviation.

Education

Montgomery Public Schools operates public schools serving most of the county. However, Pike Road City School District operates public schools in Pike Road. Additionally

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

is zoned to

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA) schools. The DoDEA operates Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School. For high school Maxwell AFB residents are zoned to Montgomery Public Schools facilities. The Montgomery City-County Public Library operates public libraries. Universities/Colleges include: * Huntingdon College * Faulkner University * Alabama State University * Auburn University Montgomery * Virginia College * Amridge University * H. Council Trenholm Tech * United States Air War College * Troy University Montgomery

Cultural sites

Montgomery County is home to many cultural and historic sites including: * Alabama Shakespeare Festival * Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts * Montgomery Zoo * Dexter Avenue Baptist Church * Museum of Alabama ( Alabama Department of Archives and History) * Alabama State Capitol * W. A. Gayle Planetarium * Civil Rights Memorial * First White House of the Confederacy * Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald Museum * Old Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station (Freedom Rides Museum) * Rosa Parks Library and Museum

Communities

City

* Montgomery (county seat and largest municipality)

Town

* Pike Road

Unincorporated communities

* Ada * Boylston * Carter Hill * Cecil *

Currys Currys (branded as Currys PC World between 2010 and 2021) is a British electrical retailer and aftercare service provider operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, specialising in white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phon ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

* Grady * Hope Hull * Lapine (partly in

) * Le Grand * Mathews * McDade * Mount Meigs * Pine Level * Pintlala * Ramer * Red Level * Snowdoun * Waugh

References

External links

The River Region OnlineFort Toulouse National Historic Site
{{authority control Montgomery metropolitan area 1816 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1816 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Alabama