Escambia County Alabama
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History

Soon after the end of the Civil War (1868), Escambia County was formed from parts of Conecuh and Baldwin Counties by an Act of Legislature of Alabama. The Act was introduced by Mr. Mark Lyons, the grandfather of Senator Lister Hill. Mr. Lyons was a merchant and timber buyer who resided in Pollard. In the Act creating the county, Pollard was designated as the Seat of Justice, and remained the County Seat until 1883. It was then moved to Brewton. The first courthouse was built in 1901. The present courthouse was bult in 1960.

The name Escambia was given to the county from the river which the Creek Indians had named "Shambia", meaning Clearwater.

Escambia County is located in the southwestern part of Alabma, comprising an area of 962 square miles. It is bounded on the west by Baldwin County; on the north by Monroe and Conecuh Counties; on the east by Covington County; and on the south by the State of Florida.

Escambia county is drained by the Conecuh river and its tributaries, which flow south or southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. The Sepulga River drains the northeastern part of the county; Burnt Corn and Murder Creeks drain the east central part of the county, north of Brewton; and the Escambia River, Escambia and Perdido Creeks and their tributaries drain the central and western parts of the county southward to Conecuh River.

The eastern part of the county is gently rolling to hilly, owing to dissection by streams and differential erosion. In general, the western part of the county is a plain not far above sea level; however, north and west of Atmore, the land surface rises locally to about 350 feet above sea level. the aproximate altitudes of the larger towns in the county are as follows: Brewton-80 feet; Pollard-65 feet; Flomaton-75 feet; Atmore-285 feet; and Wallace-170 feet.

Natural resources are crude oil, pine trees, sand and gravel, and artesian wells. Farm products are cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, sugar cane, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, and all kinds of greens and garden vegetables. County exports are crude oil, lumber, cotton, soy beans, garments, ladies lingerie, tractors and tractor parts, boxes and crates, sand and gravel, concrete pipes, pecans, and turpentine. Industries are concrete plants, implement factory, box factory, Vanity Fair Mills, oil fields, extensive farming, and numerous sawmills. In 1957, a new paper mill was built, Container corporation of America, now Georgia Pacific.