Familypedia
Register
Advertisement
This article is based on the corresponding article in another wiki. For Familypedia purposes, it requires significantly more historical detail on phases of this location's development. The ideal article for a place will give the reader a feel for what it was like to live at that location at the time their relatives were alive there. Also desirable are links to organizations that may be repositories of genealogical information..
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can.


Bibb County, Alabama
Bibb County, Alabama courthouse
Bibb County Courthouse and Confederate monument in Centreville
Map of Alabama highlighting Bibb County
Location in the state of Alabama
Map of the U.S
Alabama's location in the U.S.
Founded February 7, 1818
Named for William W. Bibb
Seat Centreville
Largest city Brent
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

626 sq mi (1,621 km²)
623 sq mi (1,614 km²)
3.6 sq mi (9 km²), 0.6
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

22,293
Congressional district 6th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.bibbal.com
Footnotes: * County Number 07 on Alabama License Plates

Bibb County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. The county is included in the ARC's definition of Appalachia. As of the 24th decennial 2020 census, its population was 22,293.[1] The county seat is Centreville.[2] The county is named in honor of William W. Bibb (1781–1820), the Governor of Alabama Territory (1817–1819) and the first Governor of Alabama (1819–1820, when he died). He is also the namesake for Bibb County, Georgia, where he began his political career. It is a "prohibition" or dry county; however, a few towns have become "wet" by allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages: Woodstock (December 2017), West Blocton (August 2012), Centreville (June 2010), and Brent (May 2010).[3] The Bibb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of Centreville.

History[]

Cahawba County was established ("erected") on February 7, 1818, named for the Cahawba River (now more commonly known as Cahaba River). This name came from the Choctaw language word meaning "water above." On December 4, 1820, it was renamed as Bibb County.[4]

In the wake of the American Civil War, the state legislature passed laws to create a new constitution that raised barriers to voter registration and effectively excluded Freedmen from the political process. Many residents resisted the objectives of Union occupation both during and after Reconstruction because they wanted to restore the Antebellum social and political norms. During this time of transition, Bibb, Dallas, and Pickens counties held the third-highest number of lynchings in the state.[5] On June 18, 1919, Jim McMillan was lynched by a White mob. On November 7, 2000, Bibb County voted against a proposed amendment to Alabama's constitution to abolish the prohibition of interracial marriages.[6]

Geography[]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 626 square miles (1,620 km2), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (0.6%) is water.[7]

Adjacent counties[]

National protected areas[]

  • Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge
  • Talladega National Forest (part)

Transportation[]

Major highways[]

  • US 11 U.S. Highway 11
  • US 82 U.S. Highway 82
  • Alabama 5 State Route 5
  • Alabama 25 State Route 25
  • Alabama 58 State Route 58
  • Alabama 139 State Route 139
  • Alabama 209 State Route 209
  • Alabama 219 State Route 219

Rail[]

  • Norfolk Southern Railway

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1820 3,676
1830 6,306 71.5%
1840 8,284 31.4%
1850 9,969 20.3%
1860 11,894 19.3%
1870 7,469 −37.2%
1880 9,487 27.0%
1890 13,824 45.7%
1900 18,498 33.8%
1910 22,791 23.2%
1920 23,144 1.5%
1930 20,780 −10.2%
1940 20,155 −3.0%
1950 17,987 −10.8%
1960 14,357 −20.2%
1970 13,812 −3.8%
1980 15,723 13.8%
1990 16,576 5.4%
2000 20,826 25.6%
2010 22,915 10.0%
Est. 2021 22,477 [8] 7.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11]
1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census[]

Bibb County racial composition[13]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 16,442 73.75%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 4,390 19.69%
Native American 39 0.17%
Asian 26 0.12%
Pacific Islander 9 0.04%
Other/Mixed 647 2.9%
Hispanic or Latino 740 3.32%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,293 people, 6,891 households, and 4,789 families residing in the county.

2010 census[]

As of the census[14] of 2010, there were 22,915 people, 7,953 households, and 5,748 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14/km2). There were 8,981 housing units at an average density of 14.3 per square mile (5.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 75.8% White, 22.0% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Of the population, 1.8% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,953 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. Of all households, 24.5% were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.5 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,770, and the median income for a family was $51,956. Males had a median income of $40,219 versus $28,085 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,918. About 9.4% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Rural flight[]

From 1920 to 1970, the population of the rural county declined considerably. Many African Americans joined the Great Migration to northern and western cities, to escape the violence and racial oppression of Jim Crow.[15]

Education[]

Bibb County contains one public school district. There are approximately 3,100 students in public K-12 schools in Bibb County.[16]

The county school district was the plaintiff in Bibb County School District vs. Wickman, a case argued before the Supreme Court of Alabama in 2005. The district's policy permitting student-led prayer before football games hosted at a private venue was ruled not to violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Districts[]

School districts include:[17]

  • Bibb County School District

Government and infrastructure[]

United States presidential election results for Bibb County, Alabama[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 7,525 78.43% 1,986 20.70% 84 0.88%
2016 6,738 76.40% 1,874 21.25% 207 2.35%
2012 6,132 72.83% 2,202 26.15% 86 1.02%
2008 6,262 72.44% 2,299 26.60% 83 0.96%
2004 5,472 72.00% 2,089 27.49% 39 0.51%
2000 4,273 60.17% 2,710 38.16% 118 1.66%
1996 3,037 48.20% 2,775 44.04% 489 7.76%
1992 3,124 46.49% 2,900 43.15% 696 10.36%
1988 2,885 56.06% 2,244 43.61% 17 0.33%
1984 3,487 61.32% 2,167 38.10% 33 0.58%
1980 2,491 44.30% 3,097 55.08% 35 0.62%
1976 1,591 35.56% 2,850 63.70% 33 0.74%
1972 3,332 78.44% 837 19.70% 79 1.86%
1968 263 5.63% 652 13.95% 3,758 80.42%
1964 2,623 83.94% 0 0.00% 502 16.06%
1960 1,052 38.23% 1,697 61.66% 3 0.11%
1956 1,004 38.88% 1,471 56.97% 107 4.14%
1952 784 28.31% 1,971 71.18% 14 0.51%
1948 123 9.16% 0 0.00% 1,220 90.84%
1944 244 15.78% 1,287 83.25% 15 0.97%
1940 173 8.60% 1,821 90.51% 18 0.89%
1936 190 9.20% 1,868 90.42% 8 0.39%
1932 145 8.00% 1,636 90.29% 31 1.71%
1928 1,003 45.61% 1,188 54.02% 8 0.36%
1924 251 18.27% 875 63.68% 248 18.05%
1920 364 16.95% 1,643 76.49% 141 6.56%
1916 217 13.67% 1,247 78.58% 123 7.75%
1912 40 3.51% 820 71.87% 281 24.63%
1908 139 15.14% 670 72.98% 109 11.87%
1904 155 11.87% 1,085 83.08% 66 5.05%
1900 482 37.74% 725 56.77% 70 5.48%
1896 650 29.08% 1,516 67.83% 69 3.09%
1892 22 0.92% 1,152 48.32% 1,210 50.76%
1888 657 40.41% 960 59.04% 9 0.55%



Bibb County has a five-member County Commission, elected from single-member districts. Members take turns in serving as chairman of the commission, rotating the position every nine and a half months.[19]

Alabama Department of Corrections operates the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent.[20]

Bibb County is reliably Republican at the presidential level. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election was Jimmy Carter, who won it by a majority in 1980 despite narrowly losing the state of Alabama to Ronald Reagan.

Communities[]

Cities[]

  • Brent
  • Centreville (County Seat)

Towns[]

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Abercrombie
  • Active
  • Antioch
  • Brierfield
  • Coleanor
  • Eoline
  • Gary Springs
  • Green Pond
  • Lawley
  • Little Hope
  • Lucille
  • Marvel
  • Maud
  • Piper
  • Randolph
  • Sand Mountain
  • Sixmile

Ghost towns[]

  • Cadle

Places of interest[]

Bibb County is home to the Talladega National Forest supervised by the United States Forestry Service (of the U.S. Department of Agriculture), and a section of the Cahaba River which draws visitors to view the unique "Cahaba Lily" (known by its scientific Latinized name Hymenocallis coronaria).

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Bibb County, Alabama
  • Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Bibb County, Alabama

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/bibbcountyalabama/PST045221. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ "Wet and Dry Counties of Alabama". State of Alabama. http://www.abcboard.state.al.us/%28S%28cm2la355mgsql1uesww3ftre%29%29/wet_dry.aspx. 
  4. ^ "Alabama Counties: Bibb County". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Montgomery, AL: Alabama Department of Archives and History. December 13, 2011. http://www.archives.state.al.us/counties/bibb.html. 
  5. ^ "Supplement: Lynchings by County/ Alabama: Bibb", 2nd edition Archived April 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, from Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror, 2015, Equal Justice Institute, Montgomery, Alabama
  6. ^ "Alabama Secretary of State: State and local proposed constitutional amendments"
  7. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_01.txt. 
  8. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021". https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html. 
  9. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  10. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  11. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/al190090.txt. 
  12. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  13. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US01007&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  14. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  15. ^ Lee, Johnathan (February 17, 2015). "Great Migration Shortened Lives of Blacks Who Fled Jim Crow South". https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/great-migration-shortened-lives-blacks-who-fled-jim-crow-south-n307711. 
  16. ^ "Search for Public School Districts - Bibb County, AL". Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_list.asp?Search=1&State=01&County=Bibb+County. 
  17. ^ "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Bibb County, AL" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st01_al/schooldistrict_maps/c01007_bibb/DC20SD_C01007.pdf.  Text list.
  18. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/. 
  19. ^ "County Commission", Bibb County, Alabama website
  20. ^ "Bibb Correctional Facility Archived July 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine." Alabama Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 4, 2011.

External links[]


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Bibb County, Alabama. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
Advertisement