Formed February 9, 1818 (18th county)
Dallas County (38,463), Selma (17,965)
A Modern look is the best descriptor of this concrete and marble county courthouse. This 1960 structure, remodeled in 1999, is located at Lauderdale and Alabama streets. The site is one block west of United States Highway 80 Business. Walter Chamberlin provided the designs for the building. There was a 1900 courthouse also in Selma. A Courthouse Annex was added in 1979. Cahawba was the first county seat in 1818 until Selma became the seat in 1866. United States. Treasury Secretary, Alexander J. Dallas, provided the source for the county’s name. The county seat was named for the Selma Land Company which sited the city. Dallas County was cut from Monroe and Montgomery counties on February 9, 1818 as the 18th county.
Dallas County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive). It has 4 commissioners (legislative.) Three Circuit Judges serve Dallas, Bibb, Hale, Perry and Wilcox counties and a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Dallas County (judicial.) The county is located in the west central part of Alabama west of Montgomery, Alabama. The center of the county is 4.1 miles Southwest of Selma. The county is surrounded clockwise by Chilton, Autauga, Lowndes, Wilcox, Marengo, and Perry counties. Selma is the county seat and the largest city. It is 46.7% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced SELL-MA.
The county has an area of 978.7 square miles. It ranks 10 out of 67 in size. It ranks 32 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 37.6 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 67 in the state. Dallas County has 58.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 80 enters from Lowndes County, east, and exits in Perry County, west. The Alabama River makes up part of the east border and is a major feature flowing through the county. The county is chair shape facing west. Selma is in the northeast quarter of the county. The county is in the Selma Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Orrville
Selma
Valley Grande
