Over the last two years, we’ve had the opportunity to take a road trip through the 10 counties we serve, but now our excursion has come to an end with the final feature: Autauga County.

Known to many as “The County Older than Alabama,” Autauga County boasts a wide variety of fun and historic sites.
Autauga County was settled after the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1817 and was a part of the Mississippi Territory. In 1818, a full year before Alabama was admitted to the Union, the territorial legislature created Autauga County.
The county’s industrial roots began in 1833 when Daniel Pratt arrived and changed the future of the county. Acquiring 2,063 acres for $21,000 at the fall line of Autauga Creek, he changed the marshy swampland surrounding it into Prattville and began manufacturing cotton gins in the first factory buildings of the South with the earliest building being completed in 1848.
Autaugaville, which was born from the mill industry through a large corn mill that had been built on Swift Creek in 1820, became home to the Autauga Manufacturing Company in 1849. The 800-acre cotton mill produced sheeting and shirts that were sold throughout the state until the Civil War.
The lumber industry also took off. The town of Marbury housed one of the most complete lumber plants in the south, with 35,000 acres of woodland and a sawmill that could produce 80,000 feet of lumber
each day.
While the town of Billingsley was officially incorporated in 1901, the area was settled much earlier around 1803. It was originally known as Cartersville after the W.W. Carter family (the area’s first settlers), and the family established a cotton gin, grist mill and a lumber company in the area. The Billingsley family soon surpassed the Carters in size, effectively gaining them the honor of having the town renamed after Revolutionary War veteran Clement Billingsley.
Many other cities and towns such as Wood’s Landing, Dutch Bend, Graves’ Landing and Reese’s Ferry sprung up along the Alabama River and served as landings and ferry points for agricultural deliveries. When cotton became king in Alabama, towns such as Statesville used their landings and ferries to send cotton to Mobile, where it was shipped to England.
As time moved on, the Prattville mill evolved and during World War II, it was used by an all-female work force that produced bombs for the war effort. In more recent years, most production had been outsourced, but saws for cotton gins were still being manufactured there until production ended in January 2012 and the ring and hum of the gin industry was replaced with an outlook toward preservation.
The Autauga County Heritage Association along with the City of Prattville officially opened The Mill at Prattville apartments in 2023, located in the renovated gin buildings situated along Autauga Creek.
The area has also served as a place of residence for notable public figures. Former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson (whose parents were native Alabamians) would come to Billingsley and spend her summers with her mother’s sister, Aunt Effie, until she was 20 years old.
Historical markers throughout the county also denote areas of interest such as America’s First Crossroads in Autaugaville at the intersection of Autauga and Academy streets. The intersection was designated by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! column in 1935 as the first crossroads where it proclaimed the first citizen of the United States (C.D. Abbott) lived in the first alphabetical state (Alabama) in the first alphabetical county (Autauga), in the first alphabetical city (Autaugaville) on the first alphabetical street (Autauga Street). Academy Street was added later to cross Autauga Street.
For those gearing up to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year (also called its Semiquincentennial), be sure to put this year’s Chronicle of America event on your calendar. Running from April 9-11 at the Doster Center in Prattville, this event covers all 250 years of America’s history across 300 trifold displays made by local schools, organizations and clubs and citizens.

“You’ll take a walk up history lane!” says Larry Caver, President of the Old Autauga Historical Society (OAHS). “This is going to be like a jumbo family reunion, high school reunion, church homecoming and Fourth of July all rolled into one.”
Starting in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence and running up to the present, Caver said this event will bring together people of all backgrounds and offers something for everyone. Featuring a wide mix of local, state and national history, the event will also feature topics such as Alabama literature, science, agriculture, farm history and much more.
Reenactors from various eras will also make an appearance, such as Betsy Ross, Martha Washington, WWII soldiers and even Elvis Presley. Members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation will be on site Thursday and Friday for the early morning student-only showings with demonstrations of stalk dancing and weaving. The Poarch Band of Creek Native Americans will also join the public event on Saturday.
“History is not boring unless you make it boring,” said Caver. “I think it’s important that we pass these kinds of enlightening experiences on to the next generation. We’ve all walked the same paths in a different century.”
Admission to the event is free, and the venue will be open to the general public as follows: Thursday, April 9 from 3 PM until closing; Friday, April 10 from 3 PM until closing; and Saturday, April 11 from 9 AM – 3 PM.
Begun by industry, Autauga County continues to be among the faster growing counties in the state and looks forward to a future that still embraces the past.