Blood & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Chatom Chatom, AL

Chatom is an incorporated town in Washington County in southwestern Alabama, about 15 miles from the Mississippi state line, and it has served as the Washington County seat since 1907.

The area that is now Chatom was first settled around 1902, and a post office opened there in 1904, before there was even an organized town.

Chatom began to grow after the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad built a line through the community in 1906.

In 1907 county voters chose to move the county seat from the old town of St. Stephens to Chatom, and the first courthouse was built in 1908 and served the county for more than 50 years.

The town's first bank, which was also the first bank in Washington County, was established in Chatom in 1909.

Chatom did not incorporate until 1949, when returning World War II veterans pushed for the town to organize and grow; by 1950 it had begun building a city water system and had created a fire department.

The 2020 census counted 1,104 people in Chatom, down from a peak of 1,288 residents recorded in 2010.

The 2010 census recorded 458 households in Chatom, including 326 families.

Chatom covers about 10.9 square miles of land in the piney woods of southwest Alabama, giving it a low population density of roughly 103 people per square mile.

The Washington County Courthouse in Chatom is home to the Washington County Museum, which displays artifacts and historical documents relating to the history of the town and county.