Chilton County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. The county seat is Clanton. Its name is in honor of William Parish Chilton, Sr. (1810–1871), a lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and later represented Montgomery County in the Congress of the Confederate States of America.
Chilton County is included in the Birmingham, Alabama, metropolitan area.
In 2010, the center of population of Alabama was located in Chilton County, near the city of Jemison, an area known as Jemison Division.
The county is known for its peaches and its unique landscape. It is home to swamps, prairies, and mountains due to the foothills of the Appalachians which end in the county, the Coosa River basin, and its proximity to the Black Belt Prairie that was long a center of cotton production.
History
Baker County was established on December 30, 1868, named for Alfred Baker, with its county seat at Grantville. The county was created from Autauga, Bibb, Perry and Shelby County. Residents of the county petitioned the Alabama legislature for the renaming of their county; it was not something forced upon them. On December 17, 1874, the petitioners accepted the suggestion of Chilton County, even though the Chief Justice had not lived within its boundaries. In 1871, the county seat was moved to what is now Clanton after the Grantville courthouse burned. Clanton, which was a site along the Louisville and Nashville Railroad when chosen the county seat, was named for James H. Clanton, Confederate Brigadier General.
In 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new vessel, the USS Chilton, in honor of Chilton County.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 65
- 20px U.S. Highway 31
- 20px U.S. Highway 82
- 20px State Route 22
- 20px State Route 139
- 20px State Route 145
- 20px State Route 155
- 20px State Route 191
Adjacent counties
- Shelby County (north)
- Coosa County (east)
- Elmore County (southeast)
- Autauga County (south)
- Perry County (southwest)
- Dallas County (southwest)
- Bibb County (northwest)
National protected area
- Talladega National Forest (part)