Alexander City, known to locals as “Alex City”, is a city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States, with a population of some 14,875. It has been the largest community in Tallapoosa County since 1910. It is known for Lake Martin with its 750 miles (1,210 km) of wooded shoreline and 44,000 acres (18,000 ha) of water. Lake Martin stands on the Tallapoosa River and offers boating, swimming, fishing, golfing, and camping. Many neighborhoods and luxury homes are located on the lake.

The city’s economy was traditionally based on the textile industry, but in recent times its economic base has become more diversified as textile jobs have gone to India.

Alexander City was incorporated in 1872 as Youngsville, after its founder James Young. In 1873, the Savannah and Memphis Railroad came to the city. The city was renamed in honor of the railroad’s President Edward Porter Alexander, hero of the Battle of Gettysburg for the Confederate States. On July 20, 1897, George Richardson was lynched.

On June 13, 1902, at 1 pm, a fire broke out in the Alexander City Machine shop and destroyed much of the town. At the time, Alexander City did not have a water system and all buildings, including the telegraph office, post office and three banks were burned.

In 2015, plaintiffs represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center sued the City of Alexander and its Chief of Police Willie Robinson in federal court, alleging that they had from 2013 to 2015 operated “a modern-day debtors’ prison” that unconstitutionally used its police force to arrest and detain at least 190 poor defendants who were unable to pay Municipal Court-imposed fines and costs. In 2017, the city reached a settlement, in which the city and its insurer agreed to pay $680,000 to persons illegally jailed.