Lauderdale County, Alabama

Lauderdale County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 92,709. Its county seat is Florence. Its name is in honor of Colonel James Lauderdale, of Tennessee.Lauderdale is part of the Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as "The Shoals".HistoryLauderdale County was named in honor of Col. James Lauderdale who was born in Virginia about 1780. In the early 19th century, Lauderdale, who moved to West Tennessee, became a major in General John Coffee's cavalry of volunteers. Later promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded a brigade of mounted riflemen, serving under Andrew Jackson in many battles against the Indians. According to reliable historians, Col. Lauderdale did not die in the Battle of New Orleans, but was wounded in the Battle of Talladega and died on December 23, 1814, seventeen days before Jackson's crushing defeat of the British at New Orleans. Several towns and counties in the southern states were named in his honor, though it is said that he never set foot in Lauderdale County.