Spanish explorers are believed to have arrived at Mobile Bay, Alabama in 1519, and the territory was visited in 1540 by the explorer Hernando de Soto. The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702. The British gained control of the area in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris but had to cede almost all the Alabama region to the U.S. and Spain after the American Revolution. The Confederacy was founded at Montgomery in Feb. 1861, and, for a time, the city was the Confederate capital.
During the later 19th century, the economy of the state slowly improved with industrialization. At Tuskegee Institute, founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington, Dr. George Washington Carver carried out his famous agricultural research.
In the 1950s and '60s, Alabama was the site of such landmark civil-rights actions as the bus boycott in Montgomery (1955–56) and the “Freedom March” from Selma to Montgomery (1965).
Today paper, chemicals, rubber and plastics, apparel and textiles, primary metals, and automobile manufacturing constitute the leading industries of Alabama. Continuing as a major manufacturer of coal, iron, and steel, Birmingham is also noted for its world-renowned medical center. The state ranks high in the production of poultry, soybeans, milk, vegetables, livestock, wheat, cattle, cotton, peanuts, fruits, hogs, and corn.
Points of interest include the Helen Keller birthplace at Tuscumbia, the Space and Rocket Center at Huntsville, the White House of the Confederacy, the restored state Capitol, the Civil Rights Memorial, the Rosa Parks Museum & Library, and the Shakespeare Festival Theater Complex in Montgomery; the Civil Rights Institute and the McWane Center in Birmingham; the Russell Cave near Bridgeport; the Bellingrath Gardens at Theodore; the USS Alabama at Mobile; Mound State Monument near Tuscaloosa; and the Gulf Coast area.
Ever wonder where all the confiscated personal possessions and luggage end up that are never claimed from airports? Next time you’re traveling through Scottsboro, Alabama take a side trip to the Unclaimed Baggage Center - a shopper’s paradise for all kinds of stuff. Who would have thought people would carry such an array of items on a plane.
Alabama is not at a loss for sports teams. Montgomery, Birmingham, Mobile all have their own baseball leagues. Huntsville is home to the Alabama Renegades, one of the nation’s first Women’s Professional Football League clubs.
Looking for top-notch colleges? Alabama is home to reputable Auburn University, Stillman College, and Tuskegee University - alma mater of Rosa Parks’. Other notable state residents include country artist Hank Williams and silky smooth crooner, Nat King Cole. Believe it or not, Montgomery is a thriving theatrical center. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is one of the world’s leading theatrical events and has now become a permanent troupe with a world class theatrical venue all its own. |
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