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 in the Northeastern section of Alabama, in the southern Appalachians. It is bordered by Marshall, DeKalb, Cherokee, Calhoun, St. Clair, and Blount Counties.
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, Alabama: Link to Family History & Genealogy, Census, Birth, Marriage, Death Vital Records & More– a Linkpendium site.
- 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.
Libraries
- Nichols Library – Home of NEAGS with many books on Alabama counties as well as other states. Family histories and family files. We are open for research on Thursdays from 9:00 am till 2:00 pm. 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.
The Genealogy Branch is located at 2700 West Meighan Blvd. Gadsden, AL 35904, 256-549-4688Their hours are Mon – Fri: 9am – 5pm.
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Last updated: March 16, 2025 10:02 PM
