Fayette County
Alabama Genealogy & History Network

Welcome to Fayette County ALGHN

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

To share your Fayette 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 Fayette County, Alabama...

Fayette County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 20, 1824, from portions of Tuscaloosa and Marion counties. The county was named for French general and supporter of the American Revolution Marquis de Lafayette, who was touring Alabama at the time of the county's formation.

The first settlement around what is now the county seat, Fayette, was originally called LaFayette; on January 15, 1821, the town was incorporated and renamed Fayette Court House. The present courthouse was built in 1911. In 1912, the Church of Christ opened the coeducational Alabama Christian College in the town of Berry in the eastern portion of the county.

During the nineteenth century, the economy of Fayette County was centered on farming, with cotton and corn being the primary cash crops. The Richmond and Danville Extension Company completed a line of the Georgia Pacific Railroad through Fayette County in 1887. The line extended from Atlanta, Georgia, to Greenville, Mississippi, and was later taken over by Southern Railway Company.

Current agricultural crops include cotton, soybeans, and corn. Clothing, latex gloves, truckbeds, hardwood flooring, and manufactured homes and lumber are major industries in the county. The county's largest employers are Georgia Pacific, Fayette Glove Company, Fayette Manufacturing, and Ox Bodies.

The Sipsey River, which flows through the entirety of central Fayette County, is one of the last free-flowing swamp streams in Alabama. One of the largest bottomland wetlands, the river is highly prized among canoers for its scenery. The river also offers sport fishing including catfish, crappie, pickerel, bream, and largemouth and spotted bass. The area also offers waterfowl and deer hunting. The Fayette Art Museum features folk art by local artists including outsider artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth, whose works hang in the Smithsonian.

The county has a total area of 629 square miles, of which 627 square miles is land and 1.7 square miles (0.3%) is water. The population recorded in the 1830 Federal Census was 3,547. The 2010 censusrecorded 17,241 residents in the county.

Neighboring counties are Marion County (north), Walker County (east), Tuscaloosa County (southeast), Pickens County (southwest), and Lamar County (west). Communities in the county include Fayette, Winfield (partly in Marion Co.), Belk, Berry, Glen Allen (partly in Marion Co.), Gu-Win (partly in Marion Co.), Bankston, Bazemore, and Hubbertville.

Fayette 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.