Barbour

Formed December 18, 1832 (37^th county)

Barbour County (25,224), Clayton (2,261), Eufaula (12,891)

The concrete and tan brick courthouse gives a governmental aura to the area.  The 1961 structure is located on Court square at Midway and Nern streets.  Alabama State Highways 51/239 pass in front of the building.  Carl Herbert Lancaster, Junior is the building designer in Modern style.  Veteran memorials are across the street.  Eufaula has an augmenting courthouse built in 1924.  Eufaula had a courthouse built in the 1910’s and Clayton had an 1833 version of the courthouse.  Louisville also served as an earlier county seat.  Virginia Governor James Barbour gave his name to the county.  Clayton is named for Georgia Judge Augustine S. Clayton.  Barbour County was the birthplace of 3 Alabama Governors, B. B. Comer, G. Chauncey Sparks, and George C. Wallace, Jr.  The county was created on December 18, 1832 from Pike County and the Cherokee Territory as the 37^th county. 

Barbour County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive).  It has 7 commissioners (legislative.)  A Circuit Judge serves Barbour and Bullock counties and a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Barbour County (judicial.)  It is in the southeast part of the state with Georgia, the Chattahoochee River, on its east border.  The center of the county is 7.7 miles East of Clayton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Russell County and Georgia and Henry, Dale, Pike, and Bullock counties.  Columbus, Georgia is northeast and Montgomery, Alabama is northwest of the county.  Clayton is in the northwest part of the county.  Eufaula is located on the eastern border.  Clayton is the county seat and Eufaula is the largest city.  Clayton is 9.0% of the county population.  Eufaula is 51.1% of the county population.  BAR-BURR is the pronunciation for the county.  The largest city is pronounced UE-FA-LA. 

The county has an area of 884.9 square miles.  It ranks 17 out of 67 in size.  It ranks 41 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 27.9 persons per square mile making it 46 out of 67 in the state.  Barbour County has 67.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 82 cuts the north county from Georgia, east, to Bullock County, northwest.  United States Highway 431 goes north to south on the east side of the side, Russell County to Henry County.  The Pea River is most of the west border.  The overall shape is a “fat chair” facing west.  The county is in the Eufaula Micropolitan Statistical Area.