Everything about Montgomery Alabama totally explained
Montgomery is the
capital and second most populous city in the
Southern U.S. state of
Alabama, and is the
county seat of
Montgomery County. It is located southeast of the center of the state, in the
Gulf Coastal Plain. The city population was 201,568 as of the 2000 census. Montgomery is the primary city of the
Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2000 population of 346,528.
The city was incorporated in 1819, as a merger of two towns situated along the
Alabama River. It became the state capital in 1846. In February 1861, Montgomery was selected as the first capital of the
Confederate States of America, until the seat of government moved to
Richmond, Virginia in May of that year. During the mid-
20th century, Mongtomery was a primary site in the
African-American Civil Rights Movement, including the
Montgomery Bus Boycott and the
Selma to Montgomery marches, public universities
Alabama State University and
Auburn University-Montgomery, high-tech manufacturing including
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, and cultural attractions like the
Alabama Shakespeare Festival and
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
History
The Montgomery area was originally heavily populated by the
Alibamu tribe of
Native Americans (after which the state is named). By 1800 the Native Americans had been mostly driven out, and white settlers began to permanently occupy the area. From 1800 to 1813, settlers continued to move in, but in 1814 two competing businessmen who would lay the foundation of the capital city arrived. Each seeking his fortune on the fertile lands near the river, they constructed separate towns, East Alabama and New Philadelphia, along the Alabama River. Each town was a success, and their proximity to each other quickly caused them to merge. Incorporated in 1819 when Alabama was admitted to the Union, the new city was named for General
Richard Montgomery, who died in the
American Revolutionary War attempting to capture
Quebec City,
Canada.
Montgomery County, Alabama, was named in memory of Major
Lemuel P. Montgomery of
Virginia, who fell at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend on
March 27,
1814. He was struck in the head by a Redstick musketball, becoming the first man to die in the battle. A statue of Major Montgomery graces the entrance of the Montgomery County Courthouse.
Montgomery wasn't the first capital of Alabama; it was actually the fifth. The territorial capital of Alabama was
St. Stephens, on the
Tombigbee River. The state capital was temporarily located in
Huntsville after the state's creation in 1819, but was transferred to
Cahawba in 1820. Cahawba was considered a less-than-ideal location because of periodic flooding and was abandoned by 1826. The state capital then was moved to
Tuscaloosa. In 1846, the capital was permanently located at Montgomery, the legislature likely finding it an ideal location from which to run the state, due to adequate amenities and travel. It has been said that New Philadelphia's founder,
Andrew Dexter--the more prominent of the two businessmen whose cities eventually merged into Montgomery--believed so strongly that his town would one day become capital of a new state that he actually reserved a spot for a capitol building. Once the capital was moved to Montgomery, his spot was purchased for that very purpose.. From then, Montgomery continued to increase in prosperity and prominence. When Alabama seceded during the
Civil War, Montgomery served as the first
capital of the
Confederate States of America;
Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president on the steps of the Capitol.
During the Civil War, Montgomery was left virtually physically undamaged, thanks in part to the Confederate capital having been moved to
Richmond, Virginia, early in the war in an effort to keep the war in the north. Alabama's infrastructure, however, was damaged with much the rest of the South. Once the railways had been rebuilt, the city moved its focus toward industrial growth in textiles and agriculture. On
March 19,
1910, Montgomery became the winter home of the
Wright brothers'
Wright Flying School. The men frequented Montgomery and founded several airfields, one of which developed into the
Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base after the Wrights began working with the government to produce planes for military use. Montomery flourished in the years leading up to the
Great Depression, having experienced steady population growth.
World War II revitalized the city after the Depression, but the city continued to weather some economic hardships. During this time, however, there were some noticeable highlights; Montgomery became the first city in the world to install electric
street cars.
Civil rights movement in Montgomery
Rev.
Dr. Martin L. King Jr. gained national attention for civil rights issues during his tenure (1954 to 1960) as pastor of the
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, two blocks from the
State Capitol Building. A civil rights memorial has been erected near the still-active church. On
December 1 1955 Rosa Parks became a civil rights heroine in the city by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. The reaction to this arrest led to the 382-day
Montgomery Bus Boycott, which forced the city to desegregate its transit system on
December 21 1956. In 1965, Dr. King's nationally publicized march for justice was conducted from
Selma to Montgomery.
Deadly fire
On
February 7 1967, a devastating fire broke out at Dale's Penthouse, a restaurant and lounge on the top floor of the Walter Bragg Smith apartment building (now called Capital Towers) at 7 Clayton Street downtown. The fire was reported to have started in the cloakroom, and early efforts to extinguish it by the staff failed. Twenty-five people lost their lives, mainly because the only emergency stair exit, which was next to the cloakroom, was blocked by the fire and because the restaurant wasn't evacuated promptly. Many prominent local citizens and some visiting teamsters in town for a convention perished. As a result of the national exposure of the tragedy, a nationwide effort to revamp fire code standards was launched.
Recent years
In more recent history, Montgomery has begun to recover from its economic problems of the 20th century. Montgomery is now home to
Hyundai Motor Company's first assembly plant in the
United States. A revitalization effort has brought a baseball stadium and a riverfront walk to downtown as well as numerous parks and historical attractions. Montgomery public schools were among the first in the nation to receive city-wide Internet access, and the Alabama school system was the first to wire all districts and schools via fiber-optics. In 1994, the 22-floor
RSA Tower was constructed, which now houses many prominent tenants, including
Raycom Media, the Capital City Club, and
Morgan Keegan & Company. Montgomery is also expanding rapidly with plans to build a second bypass system and construction of large residential and commercial developments throughout the city. Montgomery is home to a federal minimum-security prison and to some of the military's most valuable and critical computer systems and is a major supply hub for the military. The city also houses one of the military's key air war colleges. Recently, Montgomery has been focusing on further improving local schools. Also, Montgomery is home to the
Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Fine Arts Museum, the fifth largest museum in the world.
Geography and Climate
Geography
Montgomery is located at (32.361538, -86.279118).
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 156.2
square miles (404.5
km²), of which, 155.4 square miles (402.4 km²) of it's land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (0.52%) is water. The climate is subtropical.
Climate
Montgomery experiences short, warm springs and hot, typically humid summers lasting from mid-May to well into September. Autumns are usually during October and November and are mild – from the mid-60s to 70s (degrees Fahrenheit). Winters last from December until February; their severity/coldness varies from year to year, but they're usually moderate, with temperatures rarely dipping below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 201,568 people, 100,784 households, and 100,784 families residing in the city. The 2006 Census Bureau estimate places the population at 201,998.
Radio
The Montgomery area is served by nine
AM stations:
WMSP,
WMGY,
WNZZ,
WTBF,
WACV,
WAPZ,
WIQR,
WLWI, and
WXVI; and
FM stations:
WJSP,
WAPR,
WELL,
WLBF,
89.9,
WVAS,
WLWI,
WXFX,
WQKS,
WWMG,
WVRV,
WJWZ,
WBAM,
WALX,
WHHY,
WMXS,
WHLW,
WZHT, and
WJAM. Montgomery is ranked #153 by
Arbitron.
Sports
Montgomery is home of the
Montgomery Biscuits baseball team. The Biscuits play in the
Class AA Southern League. They are affiliated with the
Tampa Bay Rays, and play at
Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium. Riverwalk Stadium is also the annual host of the
NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship. The championship has been held in Montgomery since 1985, and was previously held at
Paterson Field.
The
Navistar LPGA Classic women's
golf event is held at the
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in nearby
Prattville.
Garrett Coliseum was the home of the now-defunct
Montgomery Bears indoor football team.
Montgomery is also the site of sporting events hosted by the area's colleges and universities. The
Alabama State University Hornets play in
NCAA Division I competition in the
Southwestern Athletic Conference. The
football team plays at the
Cramton Bowl and the
basketball team play at the
Joe L. Reed Acadome.
Auburn University Montgomery also fields teams in
NAIA competition.
Notable points
Events
Jubilee City Fest
Alabama Highland Games
Flimp Festival
Saturdays In April Historic House & Garden tours
Montgomery Symphony
Alabama National Fair
Montgomery Ballet
Glenn Miller Annual Concert
Zoo Boo
Montgomery Holiday Lights Festival at the Zoo
Turkey Day Classic
Southeastern Livestock Rodeo
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Montgomery County is served by the Montgomery Public Schools system.
Private schools
Private elementary schools:
Green Gate School
Holy Cross Episcopal School
Our Lady Queen of Mercy School, Montgomery
Saint Bede School, Montgomery
Private elementary and middle schools:
Bethany Christian Academy
Private high schools:
Canterbury High School
Private middle and high schools:
St. Jude High School
Private K-12 schools:
Alabama Christian Academy
Calvary Christian Academy
Churchill Academy
Eastwood Christian School
Evangel Christian Academy
Hooper Academy, Hope Hull
Macon-East Montgomery Academy, Cecil
Montgomery Academy
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School
Saint James School
Taylor Road Academy
Trinity Presbyterian School
Organized home schools:
Evangel Family Christian Academy Home School
Colleges and universities
Montgomery is home to a variety of colleges and universities, including:
Air University
Alabama State University
Amridge University
Auburn University Montgomery
Capps College of Medical Studies
Community College of the Air Force
Faulkner University
Huntingdon College
H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College
Prince Institute of Professional Studies
Troy University, Montgomery Campus
South University, Montgomery Campus
Notable natives and residents
Marlon Anderson, Major League Baseball player
Reggie Barlow, National Football League player, Super Bowl XXXVII champion
Inez Baskin, journalist and civil rights advocate
Caesar Belser, National Football League player, Super Bowl IV champion
Tom Boswell, National Basketball Association player
Brett Butler, actress/comedian
Johnnie Carr, civil rights advocate
Nat King Cole, jazz pianist & singer
Johnny Davis, National Football League player, Super Bowl XVI champion
Zelda Fitzgerald, novelist and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Benjamin Fitzpatrick, 11th Governor of Alabama
Jim Folsom, Jr., 50th Governor of Alabama
Melvin Franklin, singer in The Temptations
Anne George, writer
Glenn Howerton, actor
Tarvaris Jackson, National Football League quarterback
Vernon Johns, minister and civil rights advocate
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights advocate
Claude R. Kirk, Jr., Governor of Florida
Joseph Lewis, author and freethinker
Harold E. Martin, journalist
Charles Moore, photographer
Edgar Nixon, civil rights advocate
Tommy Shaw, guitarist of Styx
Big Mama Thornton, blues singer
Hank Williams, Sr., country singer
Michael Young, Emmy winning actor
Metropolitan Area
The Montgomery Metro area includes the following nearby towns:
Neighborhoods
| Allendale/Myrtlewood
Arrowhead
Bellwood
Beauvoir
Brentwood
Brighton Estates
Capitol Heights
Carriage Hills
Centennial Hill
Chisholm
Cloverdale
Cloverdale-Idlewild
Copperfield
County Downs
Dalraida
Deer Creek
Deerfield
Downtown
Edgewood
|
Elsmeade
Cottage Hill
Cross Creek
Forest Hills
Forest Park
Fox Hollow
Garden District
Gay Meadows
Georgetown
Glad Lane Estates
Glynnwood
Green Acres
Grove Park
Halcyon
Halcyon Forest
Halcyon Oaks
Halcyon South
Halcyon Summit
|
Highland Gardens
Highland Park
Hillwood
Lake Forest
Lakeview Heights
Lockwood
McGehee Estates
McGehee Place
Melrose
Midtown
Mobile Hights
Morningview
Normandale
Old Alabama Town
Oak Park
Old Cloverdale
Regency Park
Ridgefield
Ridgecrest
|
Rosemary
Rosemont
Rosemont Gardens
Somerhill
Somerset
Southlawn
Smiley Court
Spring Valley
Sturbridge
Taylor Crossing
Taylor Downs
Taylor Lakes
Towne Lake
Tulane Court/Gardens
Trenholm Court
Vaughn Meadows
West Woods
Woodley Park
Woodmere
Wyndridge
Wynlakes
|
References
Further Information
Get more info on 'Montgomery Alabama'.
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