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Elmore County, Alabama
Genealogy and History
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County History
Elmore county was formed
in 1866, and named for Gen. John A. Elmore. The
historic Tallapoosa, flowing down from the north,
makes a great bend and thus forms two sides of the
county. Its resources are varied, and its facilities
for manufacturing are unsurpassed, if, indeed, they
are not unequaled by any other county in Alabama. It
embraces 630 square miles.
Population in 1870,
14,477; population in 1880, 17,502. White, 8,747;
colored, 8,755.
Tilled Land—73,897
acres. Are planted in cotton, 31,045 acres; in corn,
20,000 acres; in oats, 5,153 acres; in wheat, 3,883
acres; in rye, 27 acres; in rice, 5 acres; in tobacco,
12 acres; in sugar-cane, 16 acres; in sweet potatoes,
642 acres.
Cotton Production—9,771
bales.
The surface of this
county is generally rolling. The lands vary in
appearance and in the merit of their soils. The gray
lands have the predominancy in the county, and vary
with the different localities. On the Coosa River, above Wetumpka,
there are found narrow basins of good land, but out
from these bottoms there are formed level plains which
are generally covered with a sandy soil. On the side
of the Coosa River, opposite the town of Wetumpka,
there is an extended level plain which stretches away
to the boundary of Autauga county. The character of
the land belonging to this level stretch of country is
a sandy surface with a stiff clay subsoil. This gives
to the wagon-ways a perpetual firmness and renders
hauling easy. Following along the Tallapoosa one finds
a girt of superior lands which are excellent for the
production of cotton and corn. Perhaps the best lands
are found in the fork of the Coosa and Tallapoosa
Rivers. These alluvial bottoms have been steadily
planted for many years, and have yielded unceasingly
heavy crops of cotton. The planters prize these river
lands because of their capacity to produce the snowy
staple more than any others in the county.
The lands that lie above
those just alluded to, and which are above the point
of the annual overflow of the rivers, are also superb
cotton lands, and are regarded the safest lor the
production of that staple. Of course, it must not be
understood that the production of cotton is confined
to these lands. In different parts of the county are
brown loam and slaty soils, which yield splendid
crops.
The productions of the
county which may be mentioned as staple are cotton,
corn, wheat, oats, rice peas, millet and
sugar-cane.
Elmore has many
magnificent pine forests. In consequence of of these,
a fine lumber and timber business long ago sprang up.
Along its numerous streams of extensive water-power
are found many large and flourishing mills. These vast
domains of pine cover the great level tract of country
stretching westward from Wetumpka to the utmost western boundary
of the county. Very little shrubbery is here found,
but there is a great variety of flowers, and many of
them are found in plots or patches of great
beauty.
Fruits, domestic and
wild, grow with great readiness in Elmore, and in most
sections do remarkably well. They always thrive when
planted upon sand-covered land, as beneath there is
almost the universal prevalence of a clay subsoil.
Pears, apples, figs, grapes, peaches, raspberries,
strawberries, and others do quite well. The prevailing
timbers are oak, pine, hickory, beech, walnut,
magnolia, dogwood, gum, and persimmon. Yellow ochre is
the only mineral thus far discovered.
At Tallassee, on the
Tallapoosa River, is the Tallassee Cotton Factory,
which was, for many years, the largest mill of that
character in the South. The falls in the river at this
point, furnish immense water-power, which is only
slightly utilized. This is but one of the numerous
sites favorable to the location of manufactories in
the county. Splendid streams of water ramify the
county in all directions. Among these are the Coosa
and Tallapoosa Rivers, Shoal, Wewoka, Mill,
Safkahatchee, Hatchee Chubbee, Corn, and Wallahatchee
Creeks. These lesser streams find outlets through
either the Coosa or Tallapoosa Rivers.
The points of interest
in the county are, Wetumpka, the county-seat, with a
population of 1,000 ; and Tallassee, with about 1,600;
and Robinson Springs. Wetumpka has long been noted as
the location of the State penitentiary. Tallassee is
famous as a manufacturing center, and Robinson
Springs, in former years, was a noted local resort for
the elite of Montgomery. It is extremely healthful,
and the brace of its clime and its refreshing waters
of freestone made it a place of great
attraction.
The educational
advantages of the county are good, as are also
facilities for the enjoyment of religious worship. The
means of transportation are convenient. The Louisville
and Nashville Railroad runs through the county, a
branch of which terminates in Wetumka, while in the
eastern end the Western Railroad is sufficiently near
to be quite accessible. The Coosa River furnishes
another cheap means of transportation to Montgomery
and Selma upon the Alabama River, and the cities upon
the Southern coast.
Lands may be had from
$1.50 to $15 per acre in the county. The government
owns 5,000 acres of land subject to
entry.
Source: Alabama As It Is by
Benjamin Franklin Riley, D. D., 1887 ,
Transcribed by C.
Anthony.
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