Crenshaw County
Alabama Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Crenshaw County ALGHN

Welcome to the Crenshaw County Alabama Genealogy & History Network website providing free information to genealogical and historical researchers.

To share your Crenshaw County, Alabama genealogy or history information, send an email to alghn@outlook.com - we will be pleased to include it here. If you have information to share for other Alabama Counties, visit the Alabama Genealogy & History Network state website and choose the appropriate county.

About Crenshaw County, Alabama...

Crenshaw County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on November 24, 1866, from parts of Butler, Coffee, Covington, Pike, and Lowndes counties. The county was named for Anderson Crenshaw of Alabama, a judge and prominent settler of Butler County.

The region's infertile soil and hilly terrain hindered large-scale farming, and settlers focused instead on timbering. In 1886, the Montgomery and Florida Railroad Company began purchasing land in Crenshaw County for a right-of-way for a rail line to run from Sprague Junction in Montgomery County to Crenshaw County, allowing lumber mills to ship their products with greater ease.

The new town of Luverne sprang up east of Patsaliga Creek and by March of 1890 boasted a population of almost 1,000. Businesses included grocery, hardware, and clothing stores, a saloon and restaurant, a blacksmith shop, telegraph service, several sawmills, a grist mill, a planing mill, a hotel, and a newspaper. The town of Glenwood, created in 1896 after completion of a Central of Georgia Railroad line, soon included a bank, several sawmills, a number of stores, a school, and a cotton gin.

Every fall the town of Luverne holds its annual "World's Largest Peanut Boil." The town also boasts an historic district featuring several Queen Anne- and Craftsmen-style homes.

The county has a total area of 611 square miles, of which 609 square miles is land and 2.1 square miles (0.3%) is water. The population recorded in the 1870 Federal Census was 11,156. The 2010 census recorded 13,906 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Montgomery County (north), Pike County (east), Coffee County (southeast), Covington County (south), Butler County (west), and Lowndes County (northwest). Communities in the county include Luverne, Brantley, Dozier, Glenwood, Petrey, Rutledge, Highland Home, Honoraville, Lapine (partly in Montgomery County), Panola, Social Town, and Theba.

Crenshaw County, Alabama Records

Alabama Genealogy & History Network has much information on our county websites - cemetery listings, community data, etc. Please visit the county or counties of interest to you.

Birth Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains records of births from 1908 to present. This was the year Alabama began keeping official birth records. You can obtain official copies of birth certificates by visiting the birth record page on their website and following the instructions. Since there are no official birth records before 1908 for births prior to that date you will need to determine birth information from census records, bible records, baptismal records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Death Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains death records after 1908 on file. This was the year Alabama began keeping official death records. You can obtain official copies of death certificates by visiting the death record page on their website and following the instructions. Since there are no official death records before 1908 for deaths prior to that date you will need to determine death information from census records, bible records, funeral home records, cemetery tombstones, etc.

Marriage Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health can provide you with information for marriages that took place from 1936 to present by by visiting the marriage record page on their website and following the instructions.

All existing county marriage records for any date not listed above (and for the dates listed above for that matter) may be obtained from the county's Probate Office in which the marriage was held.

Divorce Records - The Alabama Department of Public Health maintains divorce records from 1950 to present. You can obtain official copies of devorce records by visiting the divorce record page on their website and following the instructions. Records for divorces occuring before 1950 may be obtained from the Circuit Clerk in the county where the divorce took place.