Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, its population was 228,954, making it the seventh-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Montgomery, the state capital. Montgomery County is included in the Montgomery metropolitan area.

History

Montgomery County was established by dividing Monroe County on December 6, 1816, by the Mississippi Territorial Legislature.

The city of Montgomery, which is the county seat, is named for Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. By the 1940s county farms earned more from cattle than cotton.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.

Major highways

  • 20px Interstate 65
  • 20px Interstate 85
  • 20px Interstate 685 (future)
  • 20px U.S. Highway 31
  • 20px U.S. Highway 80
  • 20px U.S. Highway 82
  • 24px U.S. Highway 231
  • 23px U.S. Highway 331
  • 20px State Route 21
  • 20px State Route 94
  • 20px State Route 108
  • 20px State Route 110
  • 20px State Route 126
  • 20px State Route 152
  • 20px State Route 271
  • 20px State Route 293

Transit

  • Montgomery Area Transit System

Adjacent counties

  • Elmore County (north)
  • Macon County (northeast)
  • Bullock County (east)
  • Pike County (southeast)
  • Crenshaw County (southwest)
  • Lowndes County (west)
  • Autauga County (northwest)

National protected area

  • Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail (part)

Demographics

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Infrastructure inside Montgomery County includes both Interstate 85 and 65 along with shipping hubs on the Alabama River and rail hubs located in the City of Montgomery. The Montgomery Regional Airport also serves as a major airport for the State of Alabama and the Southeastern US for passenger service, military aviation, and commercial aviation.

Education

thumb|right|The Montgomery Public Schools headquarters and Montgomery County Board of Education is located at 307 S. Decatur Street in [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery.]]

Montgomery Public Schools operates public schools serving most of the county. However, Pike Road City School District operates public schools in Pike Road. Additionally Maxwell Air Force Base is zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. The DoDEA operates Maxwell Air Force Base Elementary/Middle School. For high school Maxwell AFB residents are zoned to Montgomery Public Schools facilities.

The Montgomery City-County Public Library operates public libraries.

Universities/Colleges include:

  • Huntingdon College
  • Faulkner University
  • Alabama State University
  • Auburn University Montgomery
  • Virginia College
  • Amridge University
  • H. Council Trenholm Tech
  • United States Air War College
  • Troy University Montgomery

Cultural sites

Montgomery County is home to many cultural and historic sites including:

  • Alabama Shakespeare Festival
  • Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
  • Montgomery Zoo
  • Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
  • Museum of Alabama (Alabama Department of Archives and History)
  • Alabama State Capitol
  • W. A. Gayle Planetarium
  • Civil Rights Memorial
  • First White House of the Confederacy
  • Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald Museum
  • Old Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station (Freedom Rides Museum)
  • Rosa Parks Library and Museum

Communities

City

  • Montgomery (county seat and largest municipality)

Town

  • Pike Road

Unincorporated communities

  • Ada
  • Boylston- now part of Montgomery.
  • Carter Hill
  • Cecil
  • Currys
  • Dublin
  • Grady
  • Hope Hull
  • Lapine (partly in Crenshaw County)
  • Le Grand
  • Mathews
  • McDade
  • Mount Meigs
  • Pine Level
  • Pintlala
  • Ramer
  • Red Level
  • Snowdoun
  • Waugh

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Alabama
  • Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Montgomery County, Alabama

References

Further reading

  • Burton, Gary P., "The Founding Four Churches: An Overview of Baptist Beginnings in Montgomery County, Alabama," Baptist History and Heritage (Spring 2012), 47#1 pp 39–51.
  • The River Region Online
  • Fort Toulouse National Historic Site