History

Randolph County was established by the Alabama Legislature on December 18, 1832, and named in honor of James Randolph, a Virginia congressman. Randolph County was one of several counties created out of the last Creek cession formulated by the Treaty of Cusseta, on March 24, 1832. It lies within the Piedmont region, which extends from Alabama to Pennsylvania.

The first county seat for Randolph County was established in 1833 at Hedgeman Triplett's Ferry on the west bank of the Big Tallapoosa River, about 10 miles west of Wedowee. In 1835 (2 years later), the county seat was moved by the commissioners to nearby Wedowee. Wedowee lies in the center of Randolph County, on a fork of the Little Tallapoosa River. Wedowee was named after a tribal chief "Wah-wah-nee" (or "Wah-dow-wee") whose village stood near the present site of the town.