Montgomery is the capital of the state of Alabama, and it is also one of the largest cities in the state. The area along the Alabama River has been inhabited for a long time before the European colonization of the Americas. Hernando de Soto led the first European expedition in 1540, while the first European to settle in present-day Montgomery was Scot James McQueen in 1716. In the early 19th century, war broke out between European troops and local tribes. American Andrew Jackson was at the head of the victorious American army during the Creek War, which ended with an Indian cession of large areas in Alabama and other regions.
In 1816, Montgomery County was created in what was then Mississippi Territory, and the first white settlers established Alabama Town under the leadership of General John Scott. Soon after, other settlers founded New Philadelphia as a separate town, but it wasn’t long before Montgomery was formed by merging Alabama Town and New Philadelphia. It happened in 1819, and the town was named after General Richard Montgomery.
The new town developed rapidly, and one of the South’s largest slave markets arose around Court Square. The Alabama River was used by slave traders to deliver slaves to plantations, and thus Montgomery was conveniently located. In 1846, Alabama’s capital was moved from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery, and with the new role, the city became an important political center. Montgomery entered American history on February 4, 1861, when representatives from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina met in the city for the Southern Convention, where the Confederate States of America was formed. Montgomery became the capital of the South, and President Jefferson Davis lived here until the capital was moved to Richmond.
Today, Montgomery has grown considerably in size since the events of the American Civil War, but fortunately, you can walk around the city center and explore the places where Southern history took place. The Alabama State Capitol is a central location. The beautiful building was built in the classicist style in 1850-1851, and it was here that the Southern Convention was held on February 4, 1861, where the provisional constitution of the confederate states was adopted. It happened in the senate, and on March 11 of the same year, the states’ new constitution was adopted. As the nation’s capital, the capitol building also became the capitol of the Confederate States of America. Today, the Alabama State Capitol is open as a museum, and as a special feature, the state legislature does not meet here, but in the Alabama State House.
Located immediately southeast of the Alabama State Capitol, the Alabama State House was opened in 1963 as the Alabama Highway Department Building. The assembly has had its seat here since 1985, when the Capitol had to be renovated. If you go south of the Capitol instead, you come to the Alabama Department of Archives and History building, which was built 1938-1940. Here you can visit the Museum of Alabama, which tells the history of the state and including many of the people and events that have had an impact on Alabama’s development. In front of the building, you can see a map of Alabama in the pavement, and it gives a nice overview of the state.
Southeast of the Alabama State Capitol, you can visit The First White House of the Confederacy, which was the house that served as the Confederacy’s first white house. It is a beautiful house from 1835, which was moved to its current location in 1919. The house was the residence of Jefferson Davis in 1861, and thereby it gained a status like the current White House in Washington. After the appointment of Davis as president, he was able to find a suitable residence and he rented the house owned by Edmond Harrison. Davis moved to Richmond on May 27, 1861, and today the house is open as a museum and furnished with an interior as in Jefferson Davis’ time.

There is also much else to see in Montgomery, such as the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, where you can enjoy a fine collection of American art from the 19th century to the present day. At the Hank Williams Museum, you can retrace the music history of the Montgomery citizen’s life and career, and you can see wildlife from around the world at the Montgomery Zoo. The Old Alabama House is also an interesting place. It is like a small open-air museum with various houses from the 1800s and 1900s, which show the history and development of the town at that time. Riverfront Park is also worth a stroll, and for railroad buffs, the 1898 Union Station is a beautiful architectural monument to Alabama’s railroad history.
In Montgomery, you can experience some of the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. as well. He fought for American civil rights. King lived in the town from 1954-1960, and you can visit his house at the time, which is called the Dexter Parsonage Museum. The museum is located on S Jackson Street, and nearby is the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. preached in Montgomery. You can also see a statue of Rosa Parks in the city. Rosa Parks became famous on December 1, 1955 when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger despite an order from the bus driver, and Parks was arrested.