The county is named after the founder of the University of Georgia, Senator Abraham Baldwin.

[5] The U.S. federal government designates Baldwin County as the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL metropolitan statistical area.

It is the largest county in Alabama by area and is located on the eastern side of Mobile Bay.

Baldwin County was established on December 21, 1809,[1] ten years before Alabama became a state.

A New Deal mural, completed by WPA artists during the Great Depression, depicts these events.

[9] During the Cold War, the vice president of Foley-based Gulf Telephone Company, John Mcclure Snook, formed a private militia to resist a potential Communist invasion from the Gulf of Mexico.

Although Snook paid the taxes imposed on the manufacture of automatic firearms, he sued for a refund on the basis that his militia served as auxiliary deputies for the Baldwin County Sheriff.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected this argument in a 1971 decision as his militia never performed services where use of those weapons were deemed necessary.

[11] Due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, Baldwin County frequently endures tropical weather systems, including hurricanes.

Since the late 20th century, the county has been declared a disaster area multiple times.

Both President Obama and Alabama governor Robert Bentley had ordered all flags to be lowered immediately following the attack, which was believed to have specifically targeted the LGBTQ community.

As of April 2007, only two other areas in Alabama have received what is the "highest environmental status" in the state.

A portion of Wolf Bay and 42 miles (68 km) of the Tensaw River in northern Baldwin County have received the designation.

Considerable military airspace overlies much of the county and adjacent bay and coastal waters.

In the spring of 2022, the city council of Orange Beach also voted to breakaway from the county school system.

[32] There are Catholic elementary schools in the county, including Christ the King (Daphne), St. Patrick (Robertsdale) and St. Benedict (Elberta).

No Republican has failed to win a majority in the county since 1968, when it was easily carried by George Wallace running on a segregationist third-party ticket.

A sheriff, coroner, and revenue commissioner are elected in at-large positions countywide.

Emergency medical services are provided by MedStar, with the exception of some cities, where the local fire department staffs ambulances.