Crenshaw

Formed November 30, 1866 (54^th county)

Crenshaw County (13,197), Luverne (2,744)

The masonry structure was built in 1955.  It is located between Glenwood and Folmar avenues and 3^rd and 4^th streets.  United States Highway 29 is 3^rd Street passing by the courthouse.  Carl Herbert Lancaster, Jr., was the building designer in Art Deco.  The building features carvings on the front and marble walls inside.  An 1893 courthouse was also in Luverne.  Rutledge was the first county seat until 1893.  The county was named for Judge Anderson Crenshaw.  The county seat was named for the wife of a local real estate company owner.  Crenshaw County was created on November 30, 1866 from parts of Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, and Pike counties as the 54^th county. 

Crenshaw County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive).  It has 5 commissioners (legislative.)  A Circuit Judge serves Crenshaw, Butler, and Lowndes counties and a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Crenshaw County (judicial.)  The county is in the south part of the state just south of Montgomery, Alabama.  The center of the county is 1.9 miles West of Luverne.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Montgomery, Pike, Coffee, Covington, Butler, and Lowndes counties.  Luverne is slightly to the east of center of the county.  Luverne is the county seat and the largest city.  It has 20.8% of the county population.

The county has an area of 608.8 square miles.  It ranks 49 out of 67 in size.  It ranks 58 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 21.4 persons per square mile making it 52 out of 67 in the state.  Crenshaw County has 33.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 29 comes from Pike County to the east and exits south into Covington County.  United States Highway 331 goes north to south from Montgomery County into Covington County.  The county is basically rectangular with many jags and jogs.