Lauderdale

Formed February 6, 1818 (10^th county)

Lauderdale County (93,565), Florence (40,172)

The brown brick building was built in 1964 on a square at Court, College, Alabama, and Pine streets.  United States Highway 72 is Court Street.  This Modern style courthouse was designed by Northington, Smith & Kranert.  The grounds have veteran memorials.  There were 1822 and 1901 versions of the courthouse in Florence.  Florence has been the only county seat.  Colonel James Lauderdale provided the county name.  Lauderdale County was the birthplace for 1 Alabama Governor, Emmet O’Neal.  Florence was named for Florence, Italy.  The county was created on February 6, 1818 from Cherokee and Chickasaw territories as the 10^th county. 

Lauderdale County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive).  It has 5 commissioners (legislative.)  Three Circuit Judges, a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Lauderdale County (judicial.)  Lauderdale County is in the far northwest corner of Alabama bordering Tennessee, north, and Mississippi, west.  The Tennessee River forms the southern and western borders of the county.  Florence is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 42.9% of the county population.  The county is pronounced LA-DER-DALE. 

The county has an area of 667.7 square miles.  It ranks 36 out of 67 in size.  It ranks 15 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 143.6 persons per square mile making it 17 out of 67 in the state.  Lauderdale County has 47.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  The center of the county is 7.4 miles Northeast of Florence.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Tennessee and Limestone, Lawrence, and Colbert counties and Mississippi.  United States Highway 43 enters the county from Tennessee, north, and exits to Colbert County, south.  United States Highway 72 comes from the east, Limestone County, and joins United States Highway 43 into Colbert County.  A flat knife is the overall county shape.  Florence is on the southern border on the Tennessee River.  The county is in the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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