Chilton County, Alabama

Chilton County
Chilton County
County
	Chilton County Courthouse in Clanton
	Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
	Alabama's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°50′43″N 86°42′52″W / 32.8453°N 86.7144°W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	December 30, 1868
Named for	William Parish Chilton, Sr.
Seat	Clanton
Largest city	Clanton
Area
• Total	701 sq mi (1,820 km2)
• Land	693 sq mi (1,790 km2)
• Water	7.9 sq mi (20 km2) 1.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	45,014
• Density	64/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Website	chiltoncounty.org

Chilton County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. In 1942, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new vessel, the USS Chilton, in honor of Chilton County. In 2020, the population was 45,014.^[1] The county seat is Clanton.

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. It also has the Coosa River basin and is close to the Black Belt Prairie.

History

Baker County was formed on December 30, 1868. It was named for Alfred Baker, with its county seat at Grantville. Residents of the county asked the Alabama legislature for the renaming of their county. In 1874, they chose the name Chilton County. William Parish Chilton, Sr. (1810–1871), was a lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Later he represented Montgomery County in the Congress of the Confederate States of America. It is not known when the county seat was moved.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 701 square miles (1,820 km²), of which 693 square miles (1,790 km²) is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km²) (1.1%) is water.^[2]