Chilton County AlArchives History .....Chilton County 
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V.
CHILTON COUNTY.

    Population: White, 8,651; colored, 2,142. Area, 700 square miles. Woodland,
all. Gravelly, hills, and long-leaf pines, 400 square miles. Metamorphic, 220
square miles. Slate region, 80 square miles.

    Acres —In cotton, (approximately), 11,558; in corn, 18,185; in oats, 2,255
in wheat, 4,507; in rye, 60; in sweet potatoes, 356.

    Approximate number of bales of cotton, 4,000.

    County Seat—Clanton; population, 800; on railroad, about forty miles north
of Montgomery.

    Newspaper published at County Seat—Chilton View (Democratic).
,
    Postoffices in the County—Clanton, Clear Creek, Cooper, Dixie, Energy,
Jamison, Jumbo, Kincheon, Lily, Maplesville, Mountain Creek, Spigner, Stanton,
Strasburgh, Verbena.

    When this county was organized, in 1868, it was called Baker, which name it
retained until 1874, when, in honor of Judge W. P. Chilton, it received its
present designation. Chilton occupies the geographical center of the State.
Wonderful advances have been made in the industries of the county within the
last few years. From 1870 to 1880 the population of Chilton was almost doubled.

    Chilton is varied, both with respect to the face of the country and the
character of the lands. In the eastern portion there is a high ridge which forms
the watershed between the Coosa and Alabama Rivers. Along the southern border of
the county the surface is uneven. This irregularity of the face of the country
extends northward for some distance. The soils vary from the rich red and brown
loam lands to the most sterile. In the western portion of the county, and
especially in the regions lying contiguous to Mulberry Creek and its
tributaries, are found the best agricultural lands. It is here that the
population is denser than elsewhere in Chilton. This is emphatically the farming
section of the county. On the opposite side (the eastern) of the county are
found altogether a different class of industries. Extensive pine forests are a
prevailing feature here. They spread over the knolls and hills which hold within
their bosoms deposits of minerals. To what extent these minerals exist has not
yet been discovered. Professor Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist, affirms that
there is a greater variety of minerals in Chilton than in any other comity in
Alabama. They consist of mica, graphite, iron, copper and gold. Copper mines and
gold mines have been operated with some success.

    The timber resources of Chilton are very extensive, as is indicated by the
fact that there are twenty-nine saw-mills in the county. These comprise some of
the largest mills and lumber industries in the State. Many of these are found
along the line of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. It will be inferred from
the foregoing that the forests of Chilton are composed almost entirely of the
yellow or long-leaf pine.

    As the timber is cleared off these lands they are brought into cultivation,
and yield readily in response to proper fertilizing. Corn, cotton, oats, wheat
and rice are principal crops. The cultivation of rice for the market has been
undertaken within the last few years with the most gratifying results. It will
ultimately prove a source of great revenue in the county. It has been tested in
the refineries of New Orleans, and pronounced equal to that grown upon the
famous rice plantations of South Carolina.

The crops which can be profitably raised are corn, wheat, oats, sweet potatoes,
Irish potatoes, peas, sugarcane, rice, cotton, and every variety of garden
truck, besides fruit in the greatest abundance, such as strawberries, melons,
peaches, apples, pears, plums, etc. Stock-raising can also be carried on with
profit, and the splendid stock ranges in various portions of the county would be
more than trebled in value were they put to the proper use. The raising of sheep
is also engaged in with profit. The increase in wealth is keeping pace with the
growth in population. In 1870 the first assessment of property was made, the
county having been formed the latter part of 1808. For the first assessment the
county gave in 139,449 acres of land, valued at $214,879; in 1887 the number of
acres has increased to 399,743, valued at $250,334, showing how rapidly
Government lands in this county have been and are still being settled. The value
of town property in 1870 amounted to nothing, there being only a few railroad
stations in the county. Since this time thriving villages have grown up around
these stations, and the value of town property goes up into the hundred
thousands. The increase in tax values during the past year amounted to $155,622.
The railroad property of the county was assessed for the present year at $76,507.

    Chilton County, with its beautiful scenery, could be made a great State
park. Along the Coosa and on Yellow-Leaf and Blue Creeks the scenery is wild and
weird as one could wish to see.

    Advantages for the shipment of products to distant markets are afforded by
the splendid line of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which passes through
the county. The East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad also passes through
the county.

    There is no lack of water, as the county is drained by the Coosa River, and
Chestnut, Swift, Big and Little Mulberry, Yellow Leaf and Blue Creeks.

    The places of greatest importance are: Clanton, the County Seat, with a
population of 600; Verbena, Maplesville, Jemison and Mountain Creek have become
somewhat noted as summer resorts. At the former place an elegant hotel has been
erected, both for summer and winter boarders; while at the latter point neat
cabins of summer visitors dot the slopes and crown the higher ridges. Families
from Montgomery and the neighboring towns have established these tasteful
retreats in order that they may find a pleasant refuge from the heat and dust of
the city. Both these points are growing in popularity as places of summer resort.

    Good schools are found at every center of interest in the county. At Clanton
and Verbena the schools are of high grade, and moral influences good. Churches
of the different denominations also abound.

    Immigrants or investors desiring to purchase lands in this county may obtain
them for prices ranging from $1 to $15 per acre. Knowing how much depends on an
increased population of thrifty habits, the people of this county are eager to
encourage such to establish homes in their midst.

    Chilton County embraces 52,000 acres of land belonging to the General
Government, which are being very rapidly settled,

    The valuation of taxable property in Chilton County is $1,864,832, as shown
by the abstract of assessment filed with the Auditor.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical
Birmingham, Ala.: Smith and De Land
1888

PART III.
HISTORICAL RESUME OF THE VARIOUS COUNTIES IN THE STATE.
MINERAL BELT.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/chilton/history/other/chiltonc363gms.txt

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