HOUSTON COUNTY, AL HISTORY AND LOOKUP
County History Books
*None Listed
Houston County, Alabama: A Genealogical Overview
Located in the southeastern corner of the state, Houston county is Alabama’s youngest county, the heart of the “Wiregrass” region, and a major agricultural hub for the tri-state area. Genealogical research in this county is defined by its 20th-century creation, requiring a focus on its parent counties for all earlier records.
I. County Formation and Evolution
For genealogists, Houston county’s creation in 1903 is the single most important fact. All records for ancestors living in the area before this date are located in the records of its three parent counties.
- 1903: County Formed: Houston county was established on February 9, 1903, making it the last county to be formed in Alabama.
- Parent Counties: It was created from portions of Dale, Geneva, and Henry counties.
- Name Origin: The county was named in honor of George S. Houston, who served as Governor of Alabama from 1874 to 1878 and later as a U.S. Senator.
- County Seat History: The city of Dothan was established as the county seat upon the county’s formation, and it has remained the seat of government ever since. The desire of Dothan’s leaders for their city to be a county seat was the primary impetus for the county’s creation.
II. Settlement and Early History
- Early Inhabitants: The land that would become Houston county was part of the territory of the Lower Creek Nation.
- Settlement and Economy: Before the county’s formation, the area was settled by pioneers in the 1830s after the Creek land cessions. The early economy of the Wiregrass region was based on logging the vast pine forests, cattle grazing, and subsistence farming. The arrival of railroads after the Civil War led to the growth of Dothan and an expansion of cotton farming. Like its neighbors, the devastating arrival of the boll weevil around 1915 forced a dramatic economic shift. Farmers successfully transitioned to growing peanuts, and Dothan became known as the “Peanut Capital of the World.”
III. Genealogical Records and Resources
This section provides practical information for locating ancestral records specific to Houston county.
- Courthouse:
- Houston County Probate Office: Located at 462 North Oates Street, Dothan, AL 36303. This office holds county records such as wills, estate files, land deeds, and marriage licenses dating from the county’s creation in 1903. For all records prior to February 1903, researchers must consult the records of the parent counties: Dale, Geneva, and Henry.
- Vital Records:
- Birth and Death Records: Statewide registration in Alabama began in 1908. Since the county was formed only five years prior, nearly all official birth and death records fall under the state system and are held by the Alabama Center for Health Statistics in Montgomery.
- Marriage Records: Marriage records from 1903 to the present are held by the Houston County Probate Office.
- Libraries with Genealogy Collections:
- Dothan Houston County Library System: The main library, located at 431 North Oates Street, Dothan, AL 36303, maintains a local history and genealogy room with resources for Houston county and its surrounding parent counties.
- Bordering Jurisdictions:
- Dale county, AL
- Geneva county, AL
- Henry county, AL
- Jackson county, FL
- Early county, GA
- Seminole county, GA