Chilton County is located in the central part of the state. It was created by the Alabama legislature on Dec. 30, 1868, from lands taken from Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby counties. Chilton County encompasses 695 square miles. The Coosa River forms the eastern boundary of the county. Originally named Baker Co., Chilton Co. received its present name on Dec. 17, 1874, in honor of Judge William Parish Chilton, chief justice of the AL Supreme Court and a member of the provisional and regular Congress of the Confederacy. The original county seat was at Grantville. When the courthouse burned in 1870, the county seat was removed to Goosepond, a stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The town was renamed Clanton after Brig. Gen. James Holt Clanton. Other significant towns and communities are Jemison, Thorsby, Verbena, Maplesville, and Mountain Creek.
Probate Office: 500 2nd Avenue North, P. O. Box 270, Clanton, AL 35046.
Research Support Groups: Chilton County Historical Society and Archives, Inc., Chilton County Public Library, P. O. Box 644, Clanton, AL 35045.
Among Records Held: Births, 1908–1952; Deaths, 1908–1919; Marriages, 1870–1936; Deed Index, 1869–1892; Deed Record, 1869–1902; Poll Taxes, 1901–1940; Wills, 1880–1940, 1916–1953.
*Contains wills, marriages, birth records, recorded family histories/heirs, military discharges, and removal of non-age.
Other: Exemption to Widows and Orphans, 1890–1901.