Sumter County, Alabama, is a rural Blackbelt county in West Central Alabama on the Mississippi state line. The county consists of 907 square miles and includes the towns of Livingston (county seat), Cuba, Epes, Emelle, Gainesville, Geiger, and York. The remainder of the county's towns are located in unincorporated rural areas.
From 1797 to 1832, Sumter County was part of the Choctaw Nation. There were 4 main Indian villages then: (1) Quilby Town, near present day Emelle; (2) a forgotten town about 6 miles from Quilby Town; (3) Timmillichee, on Bodka Creek about 3 miles from present day Gainesville; and (4) Alamutcha, between the old ghost town of Gaston and present day Ward.
The first settlers in Sumter County were French explorers who had come north from Mobile. They built and settled at Fort Tombecbee, near the modern-day town of Epes. In 1830, with the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the Choctaw Indians ceded the land that is now Sumter County to the government. Sumter County was created on December 18, 1832, and was named to honor General Thomas Sumter, a South Carolina Revolutionary hero, known as the "Gamecock". The county seat was established at Livingston in 1833.
Sumter County was the home of Alabama's first native-born governor, John Anthony Winston, who was elected in 1853. He is buried in the Winston Cemetery in the town of Gainesville.
The County's population is approximately 27% white and 73% black, with about 37% of the total population below the poverty level.
I have a copy of the Livingston Press book PUBLIC CEMETERIES OF SUMTER COUNTY, ALABAMA, 1834 - 1972, by Jud K. Arrington, and would be willing to do SIMPLE lookups if you will email me with your requests.
Be sure to visit my links to the towns of Sumter County and learn a little of their histories.
For any of the historical information referred to in any of these pages, you may also contact the Sumter County Historical Society, P.O. Box 213, Livingston, AL 35470.
