Coosa County AlArchives History .....Coosa County 
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IV.
COOSA COUNTY.

    Population: White, 10,050; colored, 5,063. Area—670 square miles. Woodland,
all.

    Acres—In cotton 26,468; in corn, 29,990; in oats, 5,225; in wheat, 9,735; in
tobacco, ____; in sweet potatoes, ____. Approximate number of bales of cotton,
9,000.

    County Seat—Rockford: population 1,000.

    Newspaper published at County Seat—Enterprise (Democratic).

    Postoffices in the County — Bentleysville, Crewsville, Dollar, Equality,
Gantt, Gold Branch, Good Water, Hanover, Hissop, Iwana, Kellyton, Lauderdale,
Marble Valley, Mount Olive, Nixburgh, Pentonville, Rockford, Salter,
Stewartsville, Traveler's Rest, Weogufka.

    Coosa County was established by an act of the State Legislature dated
December 18, 1832, out of a portion of the territory ceded by the Muscogee
Indians by the treaty of Cusseta in March, 1832. The original area of the county
was much larger than its present size, as it comprised a considerable portion of
that part of Elmore County which lies east of the Coosa River, which territory,
with the County Seat, Wetumpk,. was taken from Coosa on the organization of
Elmore County, in 1866.

    Coosa County receives its name from the Coosa River, which in turn
perpetuates the name of the beautiful and fertile valley which so charmed the
eyes of De Soto and his cavaliers when their gaze first rested on it and its
bosom was for the first time pressed by the foot of the white man.

    The surface of the county is uneven and is marked by mountainous elevations,
valleys, broad ridges containing beautiful stretches of level tablelands and
sections of slightly rolling lands. The general character of the soils is red
and gray, but along the hills and ridges some sandy lands are found, while in
the valleys and along the bottoms of the numerous creeks, a black soil of
wonderful productiveness is found, which yields cotton, corn, wheat or oats
equal to the best lands of the State. These, with sweet potatoes and cane, form
the principal crops raised, and while Coosa County is not regarded as one of the
banner agricultural counties of the State, it is a safe county, and its soil
returns a yield which will average up, year in and year out, with some of the
counties which stand higher than it in the agricultural scale. The red lands of
this county are specially adapted to the culture of wheat and other small grain,
and the yield of these articles per acre will compare favorably with the
production of like crops in any other portion of the State.

    The hills of Coosa County are clothed with a rich forest of long-leafed
pine, with considerable oak, hickory, gum, and some short-leaf pine. Owing to
the fact that this county is only entered by a railroad on its border, this
forest has scarcely been touched.

    Besides its agricultural features and its timber wealth, Coosa County can
lay claim to distinction on account of the extent and variety of its mineral
deposits. Like the county of Tallapoosa, which joins it, Coosa has gold within
its borders, but none has yet been discovered in quantities which would pay to
work. North of Rockford there lies a belt of granite of a superior character,
which will be quarried and used largely, as soon as transportation facilities
are provided to convey it to centers where it will be in demand. There is an
extensive deposit of iron ore some miles north of Rockford, which at present is
unavailable for the reason that it is locked in by the absence of the means of
conveying it to points where it could be utilized. The other minerals, which are
found in this county in greater or lesser quantities, are copper, tin, asbestos,
corundum, emery, kaolin, and mica.

    The principal streams of the county are the Coosa River, which forms its
western boundary, Hatchett, Weogufka, Paint, Socapotoy, Pintlocco and Futtegal
Creeks. These streams all furnish water-power of almost unrivaled extent. The
Coosa Biver, where it borders this county, is rendered impassable by
obstructions and rapids, and should the movement now on foot cause it to be
opened to navigation, the benefit to Coosa County will be inestimable. At
Bradford, on Socapotoy Creek, there is a cotton mill known as Bradford's
Factory, which has been idle for some years. The building is a substantial stone
structure, and, but for the fact that it is situated so far off of the line of
railroad, the property would be very valuable and the mill might be worked to
advantage.

    Rockford, a little town of about 1,000 inhabitants, is the County Seat. It
possesses excellent schools, good society, and has several churches. Kellyton
and Good Water are the only railroad stations in the county. For some years the
latter has been the terminus of the Columbus & Western Railroad. This road is
now being extended to Birmingham, and will be completed at an early date. The
other towns of Coosa are: Nixburg, Bradford, Mt. Olive, Stewartsville, Hanover,
Equality, Lorraine, Traveler's Best, Hissop, Weogufka and Marble Valley.

    The price of land ranges from $2 to $15 per acre. The county contains a
large body of public land, open to homestead settlement or purchase. The future
of Coosa County is most promising, and with increased railroad facilities, and
the Coosa River open to navigation, it would come to the front as one of the
wealthiest counties of the State.


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/coosa/history/other/coosacou362gms.txt

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