Formed June 4, 1801 (1st county)
Washington County (15,388), Chatom (1,095)
The tan brick Modern courthouse was built in 1964. There was a 1907 version of the courthouse. The county was created on June 4, 1801 as the oldest in the state. St. Stephens (1800) was also a first county seat with Chatom until 1907 when Chatom stayed alone. The courthouse sits at Court Street and Central Avenue. Alabama State Highway 56 is Central Avenue in the town. T. Cooper Van Antwerp is the designer of this courthouse. The structure was renovated in 2001. The grounds feature a map of the county on the front sidewalk and veteran memorials. The county seat’s namesake is the Earl of Chatham. The county gets its name from President George Washington.
Washington County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive). It has 6 commissioners (legislative.) Two Circuit Judges serve Washington, Choctaw, and Clarke counties and a District Judge, a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Washington County (judicial.) The county is situated in southeast Alabama on the border with Mississippi. The Tombigbee River forms the eastern border. Mobile, Alabama is directly south of the county. The center of the county is 10.5 miles Southeast of Chatom nearer Tibbie. The county is surrounded clockwise by Choctaw, Clarke, Baldwin, and Mobile counties and Mississippi. Chatom is the county seat and the largest city. It is 7.1% of the county population.
The county has an area of 1080.2 square miles. It ranks 6 out of 67 in size. It ranks 54 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 14.0 persons per square mile making it 60 out of 67 in the state. Washington County has 11.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 43 comes from the east, Clarke County, and goes south into Mobile County. United States Highway 45 cuts the southwest corner from Mississippi into Mobile County, west to south. The county is basically rectangular with a wavy eastern side. Chatom is in the northwest quarter of the county.
Chatom
McIntosh
Millry
