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History of the borders of Alabama

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Alabama Territory was organized from the eastern half of Mississippi Territory on March 3, 1817. The act defined its borders as:

• Beginning at the point where the Perdido River crosses the 31st parallel north, east to the western boundary line of Georgia.
  • This line was surveyed in 1799 by Andrew Ellicott. The western boundary of Georgia is defined as:
    • Beginning at the point where the Chattahoochee River crosses the boundary with Spain (the 31st parallel north), up the western bank of the river to its great bend.
      • The text of the act specifies, "next above the place where a certain creek or river, called "Uchee" (being the first considerable stream on the western side, above the Cussetas and Coweta towns), empties into the Chatahouchie River;" thence in a direct line to Nickajack, on Tennessee River; thence crossing the said last-mentioned river, and thence running up the said Tennessee River and along the western bank thereof to the southern boundary line of the State of Tennessee.

• "thence along said line to the southern boundary line to the state of Tennessee, thence west along said boundary line to the Tennessee river, thence up the same to the mouth of Bear creek, thence by a direct line to the north-west corner of Washington county, thence due south to the Gulf of Mexico, thence eastwardly, including all the islands within six leagues of the shore, to the Perdido river, and thence up the same to the beginning...

The western boundary of Georgia was defined in 1802 as:

The southern boundary of Tennessee was inherited from North Carolina, defined in the 1776 North Carolina constitution as the 35th parallel north.

All of the existing borders had been surveyed. The border along 31 north from the Perdido River to the Chattahoochee River was surveyed by Andrew Ellicott in 1799,

In 1807,

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• Van Zandt, Franklin K. (1976). Boundaries of the United States and the Several States: With Miscellaneous Geographic Information Concerning Areas, Altitudes, and Geographic Centers. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. OCLC 69426475.

notes

1776: NC constitution defines southern border as 35 N

1799: Ellicott surveys 31 N between now-AL and now-FL

1802: GA cedes land, setting western border at: west bank of the Chattahoochee where it crosses the line between the US and Spain up that to the great bend, next above the mouth of the Uchee then a line to Nickajack on the Tennessee River then west side of the Tennessee to Tennessee

1807-Oct: Freeman surveyed: Marked point "a short distance east" of the Elk River near 87 W which he estimated was on 35 N ran line between Elk River and "the old Cherokee Line", ~30 miles

1817: 1807 line extended west to the Tennessee, ~71.5 miles

1817-03-03: Alabama Territory created, defined boundaries as: Beginning where 31N meets Perdido East to Georgia Along that to Tennessee Along that to the Tennessee River (western crossing) Up that to the mouth of Bear Creek Line to the NW corner of Washington County South to Gulf Eastward incl all islands within six leagues of the shore to the Perdido and up that to start

1819-03-02: Enabling Act for admission defined boundaries as above; sec 3 provided: if the south line encroaches on Wayne, Green, or Jackson Counties in Mississippi, the line will be changed to a point 10 miles east of the mouth of the Pascagoula

1820-10-12: field notes filed for survey from bear creek to washington county

1820-07-19: demarcation of new line from washington county to gulf

1822-1839: 1817-? border run east as far as georgia

1826: AL-GA line resurveyed by GA

1831: 4 Stat L. 479 defined AL-FL border was 31 N

1840-01-24: AL accepts 1826 GA survey

1847: AL-FL line described as Ellicott's Line: beginning on the Chattahoochee near "Irwin's Mills" West to the Perdido

1853: Ellicott's Line resurveyed

1906: AL-MS boundary described as: West bank of tennessee, six four-pole chains south of and above the mouth of yellow creek Up that to the mouth of Bear Creek Line to what was formerly the NW corner of Washington County Line to a point 10 miles east of the mouth of the Pascagoula

1911: Ellicott's Line resurveyed

1954-05-06: AL and FL defined boundary at mouth of perdido and extend it into the gulf

Check code of alabama "1876, p. 189" for GA border, see vz 104

1. 3 Stat. 371
2. Van Zandt 1976, pp. 108–109. sfn error: no target: CITEREFVan_Zandt1976 (help)
3. Van Zandt 1976, p. 100. sfn error: no target: CITEREFVan_Zandt1976 (help)