Jackson County was created by the Alabama State Legislature on December 13, 1819, from land acquired from the Cherokee Indians. The original county consisted of nearly twice its current area, but in 1821, it was cut in half in the creation of Decatur County, which was soon abolished. Some of its former territory was divided between Jackson and Madison Counties, but most of the land went to the newly created Marshall County. Jackson County was named in honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson, who was visiting Huntsville and the Alabama General Assembly when the county was established. Most of the earliest settlers came to Jackson County from South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, although some came from as far away as North Carolina and Virginia. Some of the earliest settlements and towns included Sauta Cave, Camden (later Paint Rock), Bellefonte, Bridgeport, Stevenson, and Scottsboro. During the Civil War, Jackson County was the site of much fighting between Union and Confederate troops. The courthouse and several homes in Bellefonte were burned by Union troops, and combat took place at the Battle of Bridgeport and the Scottsboro Skirmish.

When Jackson County was created in 1819, Sauta Cave was established as the temporary seat of justice, but shortly thereafter it was moved to the village of Sauta located near Birdsong Spring. In 1828, county records were moved into the new brick, two story courthouse in Bellefonte, which served as the county seat for 40 years. In 1859, a county election was held to determine whether a new courthouse should be more centrally located in Stevenson or Scottsboro. Stevenson was chosen, but the Civil War nullified this action, and the matter was not settled until 1868. On September 5, 1868, the Commissioners Court met in Bellefonte and voted to remove the county seat from Bellefonte to Scottsboro, named for its founder Robert T. Scott, a native of North Carolina. In November 1868, county records were moved from Bellefonte to a small brick house in Scottsboro rented by Probate Judge David Tate.

(In the 1980s, this building was moved to the grounds of the Scottsboro-Jackson County Heritage Center, located one block from the courthouse square.) The new courthouse was completed in 1870 at a cost of $25,000 and served the county until 1912, when the county commissioners began dismantling it.
(Taken from Encyclopedia of Alabama)
 
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