Baldwin County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama.

It is named in honor of Abraham Baldwin, a member of the United States Senate from Georgia who never actually lived in Alabama. In 2000 the population was 140,415.  The estimated 2005 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 162,586. The county seat (capital city) is Bay Minette.

History 
Baldwin County was made on December 21, 1809 ten years before Alabama became a state. Before this, the county had been a part of the Mississippi Territory until 1817 when the area passed into the Alabama territory

The borders of the county has often changed, and many armies have invaded.

In the first days of Baldwin County, the town of McIntosh Bluff (now in Mobile County) on the Tombigbee River was the county seat. Then the county seat moved to the town of Blakeley in 1810, and then to the City of Daphne in 1868. In 1900, by an Act of the Legislature of Alabama said that the county seat should move to the City of Bay Minette. The City of Daphne was not happy about this move, because being the county seat meant more people visit the city and businesses can sell more. To move the county seat to Bay Minette, some men from Bay Minette pretended that there had been a murder. When the sheriff and his deputy left the City of Daphne to look for the murderer the men from Bay Minette went to the City of Daphne. These men got the records from the Baldwin County Courthouse and took them back to the City of Bay Minette. A New Deal mural in the Bay Minette post office is a painting of this story.

Baldwin County is close to the Gulf of Mexico. This is why it often has tropical weather systems which often are Hurricanes. Weather dameage can sometimes be very bad, and sometimes the county is made a disaster area. For example, in September 1979 due to damage from Hurricane Frederic, in July 1997 due to Hurricane Danny, in September 1998 from Hurricane Georges in September 2004 due to damage from Hurricane Ivan and again in August 2005 due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.

Geography 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of .  of it is land and  is water. Baldwin County is the 12th largest county east of the Mississippi River.

Neighbouring counties 
 Monroe County, Alabama - northeast
 Escambia County, Florida - east
 Escambia County, Alabama - east
 Mobile County, Alabama - west
 Washington County, Alabama - northwest
 Clarke County, Alabama - northwest

Environment 
Two parts of Baldwin County have been called "Outstanding Alabama Water" by the Alabama Environmental Management Commission which oversees the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. As of April, 2007, only two other areas in Alabama have received what is the "highest environmental status" in the state. The areas are
 part of Wolf Bay and
  of the Tensaw River in northern Baldwin county.

Officials think that having very clean areas of water and sea will encourage tourists to vistit the county.

People 
The census in 2000, there were 200,100 people, 55,336 households, and 40,284 families living in the county. The population density was 88 people per square mile (34/km²).

The people in the county are 87.15% White, 10.29% Black or African American.

There were 55,336 households out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.

Regions 
 North Baldwin
 Eastern Shore
 Central Baldwin
 South Baldwin
 Southwest Baldwin
 East Baldwin

Municipalities

Cities 
 Bay Minette
 Daphne
 Fairhope
 Foley
 Gulf Shores
 Magnolia Springs
 Orange Beach
 Robertsdale
 Spanish Fort

Towns 
 Elberta
 Loxley
 Silverhill
 Summerdale

Unincorporated areas 
 Barnwell
 Bayside
 Belforest
 Blackwater
 Blakeley
 Bon Secour
 Bromly
 Clay City
 Crossroads
 Elsanor
 Fort Morgan
 Houstonville
 Josephine
 Lillian
 Magnolia Beach
 Malbis
 Marlow
 Miflin
 Montrose
 Oak
 Oyster Bay
 Park City
 Perdido
 Perdido Beach
 Perdido Key
 Pine Grove
 Pine Haven
 Point Clear
 Rabun
 River Park
 Romar Beach
 Seacliff
 Seminole
 Stapleton
 Stockton
 Swift
 Tensaw
 Turkey Branch
 Weeks Bay
 Whitehouse Fork
 Yupon

Education 
All public schools in Baldwin County are operated by Baldwin County Public Schools.

References

Other websites 
 Baldwin County
 Baldwin County map of roads/towns (map © 2007 Univ. of Alabama).
 Baldwin County Economic Development

Alabama counties
1809 establishments in the United States
1800s establishments in Mississippi Territory