Coosa County

Located in east-central Alabama, Coosa County is home to several recreational water resources, including Lay Lake, Lake Martin, and Mitchell Lake. During the late twentieth century, the county was a center of the textile industry. The county is governed by an elected five-member commission and includes three incorporated communities.

· Founding Date: December 18, 1832
· Area: 657 square miles
· Population: 10,864 (2016 Census estimate)
· Major Waterways: Coosa River
· Major Highways: U.S. 280, U.S. 231
· County Seat: Rockford
· Largest City: Goodwater

Coosa County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 18, 1832. The county was one of 14 counties organized from lands ceded by the Creek Indians in the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta. A site on Hatchet Creek was chosen as the county seat and given the name Lexington. In 1835, the name was changed to Rockford. The first railroad, the Central Railway of Georgia, was completed in 1888 at the town of Goodwater. The Coosa River has long played an important part in the history of the county. In 1914, the Alabama Power Company constructed Lay Dam on the Coosa River, creating Lay Lake in the northwestern corner of the county. In 1920, Alabama Power built Mitchell Dam on the Coosa, creating Mitchell Lake. In 1926, Alabama Power Company constructed the Thomas W. Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River, resulting in the formation of Lake Martin, a portion of which lies in the southeastern corner of the county.

According to 2016 Census estimates, Coosa County recorded a population of 10,864. Of that total, 66.3 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 32.4 percent as African American, 1.3 percent as Hispanic, 1.3 percent as two or more races, and 0.1 as Native American. The county seat, Rockford, had an estimated population of 618. The only other significant population center in the county is Goodwater. According to 2016 Census estimates, the median household income was $31,910, as compared with $44,758 for the state as a whole, and the per capita income was $18,080, compared with $24,736 for the state as a whole.

Prior to the Civil War, cotton was the major agricultural product in Coosa County. During the late nineteenth century, however, farmers were forced to diversify turned to raising livestock as well as corn, wheat, and oats as supplemental crops. Given the county's many waterways, gristmills were a popular entrepreneurial endeavor. In 1874, the Central Railway of Georgia ran a spur to Goodwater, and the town became the commercial center of Coosa County. A line from Goodwater to Birmingham was completed in 1888, linking the town to the industrial and commercial hub of Alabama.

In 1966, textile manufacturer Avondale Mills opened a plant in Coosa County, providing the county with several hundred jobs in its spinning facilities. In 1999, the plant employed 350 workers and was producing 350,000 pounds of yarn per year. In May 2006, Avondale Mills announced plans to close its Coosa County plant. Madix Inc., a manufacturer of office and store fixtures, partitions, and shelving, constructed a plant in Goodwater in the 1990s. Other business include Sterling Lumber Company, a sawmill and planing company, and Wingfield Engineering, a custom controls manufacturer and fabricator company.

According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Coosa County was divided among the following industrial categories:

· Manufacturing (20.3 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (18.7 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (11.4 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste  management services (9.7 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (7.8   percent)
· Retail trade (7.2 percent)
· Public administration (6.6 percent)
· Construction (5.7 percent)
· Finance and insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (4.5 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (4.2 percent)
· Wholesale trade (1.8 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (1.1 percent)
· Information (1.0 percent)

The Coosa County School System currently employs approximately 100 teachers who serve more than 1,700 students in six schools.

Encompassing approximately 657 square miles, Coosa County lies wholly within the Piedmont physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Talladega and Clay Counties, to the east by Tallapoosa County, to the south by Elmore County, and to the west by Chilton and Shelby Counties.

The Coosa River runs along the western border of the county, and several of its tributaries cross the county. The county's major transportation routes are U.S. 280, which runs north-south in the northeastern corner of the county, and U.S. 231, which runs north-south through the center of the county. Coosa County Airport in Goodwater is the county's only public airport.

Five Star Plantation in Kellyton is a commercial 5,000-acre hunting reserve specializing in deer, turkey, and quail. The county's lakes offer some of the best fishing in the state, including spotted, striped, and largemouth bass, crappie, bream, and catfish, and host several fishing tournaments. Old Rock Jail (ca. 1825) in Rockford is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest jail in Alabama.

Additional Resources

Brewer, George. History of Coosa County, Alabama. Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1987.

Heritage of Coosa County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1999.