FIRST -- Capital of AL Territory, AL State Capitol grounds, Montgomery AL
N 32° 22.681 W 086° 18.071
16S E 565735 N 3582551
A state historic marker in front of the AL State Capitol Building in Montgomery relates the history of the various capitals
Waymark Code: WMWF9V
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 08/27/2017
Views: 3
A state historic marker in front of the AL State Capitol Building on Montgomery relates the history of the various capitals of this state, from its tome as a formally organized territory to the present day.
The first capital of the Alabama Territory was St. Stephens AL.
The marker reads as follows:
"ALABAMA'S FIRST CAPITALS
Beginning with Saint Stephens to the current location in Montgomery, this marker tells of all of Alabama's capitals. Side 1: On March 3, 1817, Congress designated the town of St. Stephens on the Tombigbee River north of Mobile as capital of the newly formed Alabama Territory. There in 1818, the territorial legislature named Huntsville as the temporary seat of government and Cahawba (near present-day Selma) as the first permanent capitol. The constitutional convention and legislature met in Huntsville and on December 14, 1819, Alabama was admitted into the Union. Meanwhile a suitable building was erected at Cahawba. Cahawba was prone to flooding which resulted in another change of locale in 1826-this time to Tuscaloosa. An elegant statehouse erected there served until 1846 when Montgomery became the capital of the state. Side 2: Anticipating that Montgomery might some day be Alabama's capital, city founder Andrew Dexter in 1819 set aside "Goat Hill," at what was then the eastern edge of a small frontier town, as the locale for a future statehouse. The first capitol on this site was erected in 1846-47 after a design by Philadelphia architect Stephen Decatur Button. Burned only two years later in 1849, this Greek Revival-style structure was replaced by the present capitol, also in the Greek Revival-style, in 1850-51. Additions since that time include a large rear wing (1885), side wing (1908-1912), and another rear addition completed in 1992. In February 1861, delegates from seceding southern states convened in this building to organize the Confederate States of America. On March 25, 1965, the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ended on the capitol steps.
Alabama Historical Association / Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce / Historical Preservation and Promotion Foundation.
1995"
FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location
Date of FIRST: 03/03/1817
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.