Dallas County, Alabama

Dallas County
County
Dallas County Courthouse in Selma. Built in 1901, it was given an extensive modern makeover in 1960
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°19′29″N 87°06′19″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	February 9, 1818
Named for	Alexander J. Dallas
Seat	Selma
Largest city	Selma
Area
• Total	994 sq mi (2,570 km2)
• Land	979 sq mi (2,540 km2)
• Water	15 sq mi (40 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	38,462
• Density	39/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Website	www.dallascounty-al.org

Dallas County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. The county seat is Selma.

History

Dallas County was formed on February 9, 1818. It was named for U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander J. Dallas of Pennsylvania. At first the county seat was at Cahaba. In 1865, the county seat was moved to Selma.

Geography

Dallas County is in the Black Belt region. The Alabama River is in the county.

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 993.37 square miles (2,572.8 km²). 980.71 square miles (2,540.0 km²) (or 98.73%) is land and 12.66 square miles (32.8 km²) (or 1.27%) is water.

Border Counties

• Chilton County (north)
• Autauga County (northeast)
• Lowndes County (southeast)
• Wilcox County (south)
• Marengo County (west)
• Perry County (northwest)

National protected areas

• Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail (part)
• Talladega National Forest (part)

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 80
• State Route 5
• State Route 14
• State Route 22
• State Route 41
• State Route 89

Airports

• Craig Field (SEM) in Selma
• Skyharbor Airport (S63) in Selma

Communities

Cities

• Selma
• Valley Grande

Towns

• Orrville

Census-designated places

• Selmont-West Selmont

Unincorporated communities

• Beloit
• Browns
• Cahaba
• Carlowville
• Crumptonia
• Elm Bluff
• Marion Junction
• Minter
• Plantersville
• Pleasant Hill
• Richmond
• Safford
• Sardis
• Summerfield
• Tyler

Education

Areas not in Selma are served by Dallas County Schools. Areas in Selma are served by Selma City Schools.

Notable residents

• James Abercrombie, (1795–1861), United States Congressman from Alabama, lived here for a time.
• Shwetak Patel, (1981-), born in Selma, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington