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Etowah County Almanac

Founded: Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall & St. Clair Counties..  First organized in 1866 as Baine County which was dissolved in 1867, then reorganized as Etowah in 1868.
Origin of Name:  Cherokee for "edible tree" or "Tribal town". (depends on source)
County seat: Gadsden

Land Area:  534.82 square miles of Alabama's 50,744 square miles.

Persons per square mile, 2000: 193.4

Altitude: 621 feet above sea level
Highest Elevation:  1548 feet

Time Zone:  Central

Climate: Four distinct seasons, with mild winters, warm summers. Annual mean temperature 61.7; mean winter, 44.4; mean summer, 78.9; annual average rainfall, 54.95 inches; annual average snowfall, 1 inch; altitude above sea level, 621 feet, length of growing season, 216 days.

County Geography: Etowah County is nestled in the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. In addition, the terrain is covered by many pine forests. This area is often called the Central Pine Belt.

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Population Growth:

Census Year Alabama (terr/state) Blount County* Calhoun County* Cherokee County* DeKalb County* Marshall County* St. Clair County* Etowah (region)
1790                
1800 1,250              
1810 9,046              
1820 127,901 2,415         4,166  
1830 309,527 4,233         5,975  
1840 590,756 5,570 14,260 8,773 5,929 7,553 5,638  
1850 771,623 7,367 17,163 13,884 8,245 8,846 6,829  
1860 964,201 10,865 21,539 18,360 10,705 11,472 11,013  
1870 996,992             10,109
1880 1,262,505             15,398
1890 1,513,401             21,926
1900 1,828,697             27,361
1910 2,138,093             39,109
1920 2,348,174             47,275
1930 2.646.249             63,399
1940 2,832,961             72,580
1950 3,061,743             93,892
1960 3,266,740             96,980
1970 3,444,354             94,144
1980 3,894,025             103,057
1990 4,040,587             99,840
2000 4,447,100             103,459
2003               103,035
2005               103,189
2006 4,599,030             103,362
*Includes part of the population count of present-day Etowah County, which hadn't been created yet.

Heritages reported by Etowah County residents include:

Black or African American 15%
Irish 11%
English 11%
German 6%
Scots-Irish 2%
Scottish 2%
American Indian tribes, specified 1%
Dutch 1%
Italian 1%
French (except Basque) 1%
European 1%
Mexican 1%
Subsaharan African 1%
African 1%