Opelika Wedding

Opelika is a city in Lee County in east central Alabama. It is the county seat of Lee County and is a principal city, along with Auburn, Alabama, in the Auburn-Opelika, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). According to 2005 Census estimates, the population of Opelika is 23,804. The Auburn-Opelika, Alabama MSA is part of the greater Columbus-Auburn-Opelika, Georgia-Alabama Combined Statistical Area.

The first white settlers in the area now known as Opelika arrived in the late 1830s and established a community called Lebenon. After the removal of the native peoples by force in 1836-37, the area became known as "Opelika", taken from a word in the Muskogee language meaning "large swamp". Settlement was sporadic until the late 1840s, when Opelika quickly became a commercial center with the coming of the railroad.