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Chilton County Location

The map to the right shows the location of Chilton County within the State of Alabama.

Chilton County is located in central Alabama almost completely within the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic region. A part of southwestern Chilton County lies within the Talladega National Forest The Coosa River runs along the eastern edge of the county.

Created from parts of Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby Counties, Chilton County, then Baker County, was established by an Act of the Alabama Legislature on December 30, 1868.

The county seat was originally located in Grantville (named for Union general and U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant). When the courthouse in Grantville burned down in 1870, the county seat was moved to Goosepond. In 1871, Goosepond was renamed Clanton for Mexican and Civil War veteran Gen. James Holt Clanton. Clanton had been instrumental in building Goosepond into a thriving village.

During the turbulent years of reconstruction, Baker County was renamed Chilton County, on December 17, 1874, in honor of lawyer, Alabama Representative to the Confederate Congress, and Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice William Parish Chilton.

University of Alabama
Cartographic Research Lab
Major roads and towns
Chilton County Map

Sources...

"Alabama Counties: Chilton County." Alabama Department of Archives and History. State of Alabama, 13 Dec 2011. Web. 17 Jan 2014. <http://www.archives.state.al.us/counties/LOWERCASECOUNTYNAME.html>.

Morton, Patricia Hoskins. "Alabama Counties: Chilton County." Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama Humanities Foundation, 22 Mar 2013. Web. 17 Jan 2014. <http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1073>.

"State & County QuickFacts." United States Census Bureau. United States Department of Commerce. Web. 3 Jan 2014.

Additional Information

Chilton County history page: Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Chilton County: The Encyclopedia of Alabama TM & © 2013. Alabama Humanities Foundation. All Rights Reserved. A service of Auburn University, The University of Alabama, and Alabama State Dept. of Education.

Map: Chilton County's major roads and towns.: Prepared by the Department of Geography, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama.

General Highway Map: Chilton County, Alabama : Prepared by the Alabama Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Planning, Surveying and Mapping Division in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Chilton County, Alabama Genealogical Information: The USGenWeb Project: Keeping Internet Genealogy Free.

Chilton County, Alabama: United States Census Bureau: State & County QuickFacts.

Chilton County, Alabama: Official website of Chilton County, Alabama.

Clanton, Alabama: Official Site of the City of Clanton.

Alabama County Web Sites: State of Alabama: Alabama Directory.

Alabama County Selection Map: United States Census Bureau: State & County QuickFacts.

Alabama County Map with County Seat Cities: Geology.com.

Maps of Alabama Counties: University of Alabama: Alabama Maps.

Alabama Counties from Amazon.com