Etowah County was created by the Alabama legislature on December 7, 1866 and was originally named Baine County in honor of General David W. Baine, a Confederate soldier from Lowndes County.

The county (i.e., Baine) was abolished on December 1, 1868 by the Constitutional Convention and re-established on the same day, under the name of Etowah, which is from the Cherokee language.

Etowah County is located in the northeastern section of the state, in the southern Appalachians. Marshall, DeKalb, Cherokee, Calhoun, St. Clair, and Blount Counties border it.

Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain are located in Etowah County.

Towns & Communities

Gadsden is the county seat, named after Colonel James Gadsden, distinguished soldier, diplomat, and railroad president.

~ Source: Ancestor Swap Meet 2003 book, June 21, 2003, Northeast Alabama Genealogical Society

Other towns and communities include  Altoona, Attalla, Boaz, Gallant (unincorporated), Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, Mountainboro, Ohatchee, Rainbow City, Reece City, Ridgeville, Sardis City, Southside & Walnut Grove.

Research Links for Genealogy Search in Etowah County, Alabama [All links will open in a new tab or window of your browser.]

• Etowah Ancestry Message Board – Any message posted on this Ancestry board is also copied to the “ALETOWAH-L” [Alabama Etowah List] RootsWeb  mailing list … and vice versa.
• Etowah County Resources – List of links at RootsWeb. Most appear to be for the state of Alabama rather than centric to Etowah.
• Etowah County, Alabama: Link to Family History & Genealogy, Census, Birth, Marriage, Death Vital Records & More – a Linkpendium site.
• Etowah County – a Genealogy, Inc. site.
• Genealogy Trail for Etowah.
• Etowah County on USGenWeb Archives Project.

Cemeteries

• Etowah County Cemetery Records from Access Genealogy site. The page lists the cemeteries by name under the site that hosts the record for that cemetery. Note that some sites are not free.

History

• The Legend of Black Creek Falls (later called Noccalula Falls) – “Noccalula Falls is located on land once owned by R. A. MITCHELL, who gave the site to the city of Gadsden. The main feature of the park is a notable 90-foot waterfall with a gorge trail winding through its basin and past caves, an aboriginal fort, an abandoned dam, pioneer homestead and Civil War carvings.”

Libraries 

• Nichols Library – Home of NEAGS with many books on Alabama counties as well as other states. Family histories & family files. See our hours of operation on most pages of this site. Our library is 100% maintained by volunteers from the society. We are there to HELP you do YOUR genealogy research. This was the first lending library in all of Alabama and is unbelievably beautiful on the inside.
• Gadsden Public Library – Gadsden Public Library has a large genealogy section including microfilm. There is also an “Alabama” history room. Excellent research resource.  It is sad to report that the “Alabama” history room has been removed. Note also that the genealogy section has been moved to the 4th floor of the library. You may have to ask at the front desk for the elevator location. There are no restrooms on the 4th floor; those are on the 1st floor. Complaints should be directed to the front desk on the 1st floor.

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Last updated: Thursday, September 25, 2014  14:02 PM