Dale County, Alabama

Dale County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 50,251. Its county seat and largest city is Ozark. Its name is in honor of General Samuel Dale.

Dale County comprises the Ozark, AL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark, AL Combined Statistical Area.

The vast majority of Fort Rucker, the U.S. Army Aviation Center for Excellence, is located in Dale County.

History

The area now known as Dale County was originally inhabited by members of the Creek Indian nation, who occupied all of southeastern Alabama during this period. Between the years of 1764 and 1783 this region fell under the jurisdiction of the colony of British West Florida. The county, together with the surrounding area, was ceded to the United States in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson, ending the Creek Indian Wars. A blockhouse had been constructed during the conflict on the northwestern side of the Choctawhatchee River, and the first non-Indian residents of Dale County would be veterans who began to settle in the area around 1820.