BUTLER COUNTY, AL HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
The History of Butler County, Alabama, From 1815–1885 by John Buckner Little, (1885) – 294 Pages
Source: Internet Archive
Book ID: CH.2023.11.10.0053.CD.AR
Butler County, Alabama: A Genealogical Overview
Located in south-central Alabama, Butler county has a history deeply connected to the early transportation routes of the state and the development of the timber industry. Its seat of Greenville reflects a heritage of agriculture and railroad commerce.
I. County Formation and Evolution
Understanding Butler county’s formation and parentage is the first step for researchers tracing families in this part of Alabama.
- 1819: County Formed: Butler county was established on December 13, 1819, shortly after Alabama achieved statehood.
- Parent Counties: It was created from portions of Conecuh and Monroe counties.
- Name Origin: The county was named for Captain William Butler, a veteran of the Creek War from Georgia who was killed in action in what is now Butler county in 1818.
- County Seat History: The first county seat was at Fort Dale. In 1821, the seat was moved to a more central location, which was named Greenville, and it has remained there since.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The area was part of the territory of the Upper Creek Nation. Fort Dale was built as a defensive stockade by settlers during the Creek War of 1813-14.
- Settlement and Economy: Following the Creek land cessions, settlers from Georgia and the Carolinas were drawn to the area’s fertile soil for cotton cultivation. The economy was based on the plantation system and the labor of enslaved African Americans. The arrival of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in the 1850s transformed Greenville into a major commercial hub for shipping cotton and, later, vast quantities of timber from the surrounding pine forests.
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Butler county.
- Courthouse:
- Butler County Probate Office: Located at 700 Court Square, Greenville, AL 36037. This office is the primary repository for county records, including wills, estate files, land deeds, and marriage licenses dating back to the county’s formation.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration began in 1908. These records are held by the Alabama Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery.
- Marriage Records: Marriage records from 1819 to the present are located at the Butler County Probate Office.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Greenville-Butler County Public Library: Located at 309 Fort Dale Road, Greenville, AL 36037. The library maintains a genealogy and local history room with resources such as census records, local newspapers, and published histories of the area.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Conecuh county
- Covington county
- Crenshaw county
- Lowndes county
- Monroe county
- Wilcox county