Elmore County was created by the Alabama legislature on Feb. 15, 1866; from parts of Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa Counties. It was named for Gen. John Archer Elmore, a veteran of the American Revolution and early settler of Alabama. Elmore County has a total area of 657 miles. Of that total, 621 miles of it is land and 36 miles of it is water. Elmore County lies in the east-central part of the state. It is drained by the Coosa and the Tallapoosa Rivers, which merge to form the Alabama River a few miles south of Wetumpka. The French established Fort Toulouse at the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa in 1717, upon which site Gen. Andrew Jackson erected Fort Jackson in 1814, following the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Wetumpka is the county seat. Other municipalities in the county include Millbrook, Tallassee, Eclectic, Coosada, Deatsville, and Elmore. Interestingly, a small part of the City of Prattville is also in Elmore County and portions of Tallassee are in Tallapoosa County. As of the 2000 census, there are 65,874 people in Elmore County, the third fastest growing county in Alabama. Authority:Owen, Thomas McAdory.History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography.Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.