Bullock County was established by act of the state legislature dated December 5, 1866, with areas partitioned fromMacon,Pike,Montgomery, andBarbour counties.[5] The boundaries were changed in February 1867.
Prior to the arrival of white settlers, the future Bullock County was inhabited byCreek Indians. TheTreaty of Fort Jackson (1814) ceded much of Alabama and Georgia to the US government, and the Creeks wereremoved completely after 1830. From 1818 through the 1830s, white settlers poured into the area, turning the rich soil into cotton-producing plantations and the area into one of the state's richest.
Bullock County was devastated by theCivil War. Its once-enslaved population (about seventy percent of the total population) had sustained its output, but their emancipation caused a sharp decline in the economy. In the aftermath, Bullock County elected two former slaves to the state legislature, but withend of Reconstruction, the black population were severely restricted and kept down.[5]
By 1877 theboll weevil had migrated into Bullock County cotton fields from Mexico, and the area's economy was further depressed. A significant portion of the once-cotton-producing area was converted to a site of the Amateur Field Trial competition for bird dogs and a game preserve.[5]
Prior to white settlement, the future Bullock County terrain was completely wooded. It still bears a significant coverage of trees,[6] with the remainder having been cleared for agricultural or urban usage.[7] A range of hills, called Chunnenugga Ridge, bisects the county running east to west. It forms the watershed for theTallapoosa River on the north, and streams on the south that flow to theGulf of Mexico, including theConecuh River, which flows through the extreme west end ofFlorida to reach the Gulf. The highest point on this ridge (approximately 670 feet/200 meters ASL) lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Sehoy Lake.[8]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 625 square miles (1,620 km2), of which 623 square miles (1,610 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) (0.4%) is water.[9]
Bullock County, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the2000 United States census,[21] there were 11,714 people, 3,986 households, and 2,730 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 19 people per square mile (7.3 people/km2). There were 4,727 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 73.11%Black orAfrican American, 25.25%White, 0.38%Native American, 0.18%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.37% fromother races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.75% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 3,986 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.50% weremarried couples living together, 28.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.13.
The county population contained 26.10% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 110.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $20,605, and the median income for a family was $23,990. Males had a median income of $22,560 versus $19,069 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $10,163. About 29.80% of families and 33.50% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 44.70% of those under age 18 and 29.10% of those age 65 or over.
Bullock County is powerfully Democratic. It was one of only six Wallace counties[a] to vote forGeorge McGovern againstRichard Nixon's 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972 and it was only one of nine counties to back Goldwater and McGovern, all of which are located in theDeep South.[b]
United States presidential election results for Bullock County, Alabama[24]
^abc"Bullock County". Auburn University Outreach/Encyclopedia of Alabama. June 28, 2007. RetrievedSeptember 13, 2020.
^"The forests support an abundance of such growth as pine, red, post, and white oak, together with elm, poplar, gum, ash. hickory, walnut, chestnut, magnolia, cottonwood, maple, and dogwood." (History of Bullock County, Alabama/Genealogy Trails - accessed September 13, 2020)
