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.
