Chambers

Formed December 18, 1832 (39^th county)

Chambers County (34,774), Lafayette (2,684), Valley (10,530)

The dome and working clock tower stand out on the red brick building.  The 1899 facility is located in the center of the city at Alabama, Martin Luther King, 1^st, and Lafayette streets.  United States Highway 431 is Lafayette Street passing through the city.  Golucke and Stewart are the architects of this Classic Revival structure.  The building was enlarged in 2003.  The facility has columns and the grounds feature veteran memorials.  The county was named for Senator Henry H. Chambers.  Lafayette is named for the Marquis de La Fayette.  He also provided the name for the county and county seat of Fayette County.  Chambers County was the birthplace of 1 Alabama Governor, Forrest H. James, Jr.  Chambers County was formed on December 18, 1832 from Montgomery County as the 39^th county.  There were courthouses built in 1833 and 1837 prior to the current structure, all in Lafayette. 

Chambers County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive).  It has 6 commissioners (legislative.)  Three Circuit Judges serve Chambers, Macon, Randolph and Tallapoosa counties and a District Attorney, District Judge, a Probate Judge and a County Judge serve Chambers County (judicial.)  Eastern Alabama is the site for Chambers County northwest of Columbus, Georgia.  The center of the county is 9.3 miles East of Lafayette.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Randolph County and Georgia and Lee and Tallapoosa counties.  Lafayette is at or near the center of the county.  Valley is located in the extreme southeast corner of the county.  Lafayette is the county seat and Valley is the largest city.  Lafayette is 7.7% of the county population and Valley is 30.3% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced LA-FAE-ET. 

The Chattahoochee River is a lot of the eastern border.  The county has an area of 596.5 square miles.  It ranks 54 out of 67 in size.  It ranks 34 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 57.1 persons per square mile making it 30 out of 67 in the state.  Chambers County has 55.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 85 cuts the southeast tip of the county coming in from Georgia on the east and exiting south into Lee County.  United States Highway 29 parallels Interstate Highway 85 from Georgia into Lee County.  United States Highway 431 enters from Randolph County in the north and goes south into Lee County.  A rectangular shaped county with the southern part being slightly wider than the north best describes the shape.  The county is in the Valley Micropolitan Statistical Area.