Bibb County

Bibb County is located to the south and southwest of Jefferson County and is part of the 7-county Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is bordered by Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Shelby County to the north, by Hale County to the west, Perry County to the south, and Chilton County to the east.

The present Bibb County was originally part of a sprawling Monroe County, designated by the Mississippi territorial legislature in 1815, which stretched into what is now central Alabama from the Mobile delta. In 1817 it became part of Montgomery County, which was ceded into the Alabama Territory by 1818. The northern section was split off as Cahawba County (named for the Cahaba River) on February 7 of that year. In 1820 it was renamed in honor of William Wyatt Bibb, the first Governor of Alabama, who had died in office the preceding summer.

The first seat of Bibb County was a temporary location at Falls of the Cahaba, which was used from 1819 to 1822, when it was moved to a community surrounding a sawmill, which was given the name Bibb Court House. In 1829, the seat was moved to Centreville Court House, since shortened to Centreville. The Bibb County Commission meets twice monthly in the 1902 Bibb County Courthouse. Public schools in Bibb County are run by the Bibb County Public School District.

The county has a total area of 626 square miles and a population of 21,516 (2005 estimate). Bibb is a dry county. The northern part of the county lies within the Cahaba coalfields, and had several mines, most notably at Blocton. Major highways traversing Bibb County include U.S. Highway 82, Alabama Highway 5, Alabama Highway 25, Alabama Highway 58, and Alabama Highway 219.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,826 people, 7,421 households, and 5,580 families residing in the county. The population density was 33/mi². There were 8,345 housing units at an average density of 13/mi². The racial makeup of the county was 77% White and 22% Black. 1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,421 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 12.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 22.10% of all households 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 2.64 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 106.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,420, and the median income for a family was $37,230. Males had a median income of $30,413 versus $21,070 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,105. About 14.90% of families and 20.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.60% of those under age 18 and 18.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Ashby
• Blocton
• Brent
• Centreville
• Six Mile
• Woodstock (extends into Tuscaloosa County)
• Vance (extends into Tuscaloosa County)
• West Blocton

References

• Ellison, Rhoda C. (1999) Bibb County, Alabama: The First Hundred Years. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730987X
• Bibb County, Alabama. (2007, February 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:13, February 22, 2007 [1]
• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X

External links

• Bibb County at archives.state.al.us
• Bibb County Chamber of Commerce website
• Bibb County information at rootsweb.com
• History of Bibb County at genealogytrails.com