Montgomery is the capital and second most populous city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county
seat of Montgomery County. Montgomery is notable for its historic
involvement during the Civil War, for being the first capital of the Confederacy, and for being a primary site in the Civil Rights Movement, including the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott (see below).
History
The Montgomery area was originally heavily populated by the Alibamu Native Americans (after which the state is named). By the
year 1800 the Native Americans had been mostly driven off, and white settlers began to permanently reoccupy 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 was a success, and their proximity to each other quickly caused them to merge.
Incorporated together 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, 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 shot 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, located at 251 S. Lawrence St.
Soon after Montgomery and Alabama had been founded, Montgomery became a central stagecoach station and link to the railroad
leading from New York to New Orleans. It was also a prominent steamboat port along the Alabama River and was known for producing
cotton. Montgomery was not 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 Alabama's incorporation 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, and the state capital was moved to Tuscaloosa. In 1846, the capital was finally moved to Montgomery, the legislature likely finding it
an ideal location from which to run the state, thanks 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. [1]. From that point
on, Montgomery continued to increase in prosperity and prominence in the United States. When the state seceded during the Civil
War, Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederate States of America; Jefferson Davis
was inaugurated on the steps of the Capitol. It had at the time a well-educated, well-off, and financially influential
population.
During the Civil War, Montgomery was left virtually physically undamaged, thanks in part to the Confederate capital having
been moved to Richmond, Virginia, early on in the war, in an effort to keep the war
in the north. Alabama's infrastructure was, however, 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 AFB 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. WWII revitalized the city after the Depression, but the city
continued to weather some economic hardships. During this time, however, there were some noticeable highlights: for example,
Montgomery became the first city in the world to install electric street cars. Montgomery, Alabama, was a central location in the
American Civil Rights Movement.
Civil rights movement in Montgomery
The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
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 posh 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 in the blaze, mainly because the only emergency stair exit, which was next to
the cloakroom, was blocked by the fire and because the restaurant was not evacuated promptly. Many prominent local citizens and
some visiting teamsters in town for a convention perished, and 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 and Co. 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. Lately, it has also gotten a lot of mainstream television, radio, and internet
attention because of entrepreneur/entertainer Sammy Stephens and his world famous Flea
Market Montgomery commercial.
Geography and Climate
Montgomery is located at 32°21′42″N, 86°16′45″W (32.361538,
-86.279118)1.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 404.5
km² (156.2 mi²). 402.4 km² (155.4 mi²) of it is
land and 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (0.52%) is water. The climate is subtropical.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec High °F |
83 |
85 |
89 |
91 |
98 |
105 |
105 |
104 |
101 |
100 |
87 |
85 |
| Norm High °F |
57.6 |
62.4 |
70.5 |
77.5 |
84.6 |
90.6 |
92.7 |
92.2 |
87.7 |
78.7 |
68.7 |
60.3 |
| Norm Low °F |
35.5 |
38.6 |
45.4 |
51.2 |
60.1 |
67.3 |
70.9 |
70.1 |
64.9 |
52.2 |
43.5 |
37.6 |
| Rec Low °F |
0 |
10 |
17 |
28 |
40 |
49 |
59 |
56 |
39 |
26 |
13 |
5 |
| Precip (in) |
5.04 |
5.45 |
6.39 |
4.38 |
4.14 |
4.13 |
5.31 |
3.63 |
4.22 |
2.58 |
4.53 |
4.97 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [2] |
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 201,568 people, 100,784 households, and 100,784 families
residing in the city. The 2006 MONTGOMERYCensus Bureau estimate places the population at 201,998.[1]Population in Montgomery County
1790-0 1800-0 1810-0 1820-6,604 1830-12,695 1840-24,574 1850-29,711 1860-35,904 1870-43,704 1880-52,356 1890-56,172
1900-72,047 1910-82,178 1920-80,853 1930-98,671 1940-114,420 1950-138,965 1960-169,210
The population density was 500.9/km² (1,297.3/mi²). There were 86,787 housing
units at an average density of 215.7/km² (558.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.63% Black, 47.67% White, 0.25% Native American, 1.06% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population
were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 78,384 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were
non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.
Partial City view from State Capitol
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from
45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,627, and the median income for a family was $44,297. Males had a median
income of $31,877 versus $25,014 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$19,385. About 13.9% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.
Job Highlights of 2006: Montgomery was recently labeled one of the best places to locate technology jobs in America;
considering pay and cost of living.
Weather
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 are usually moderate, with temperatures
rarely dipping below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Transportation
Montgomery is served by Interstate 65 and Interstate
85. I-65 is the primary north-south freeway through the city leading between Nashville, TN and Mobile, including
Birmingham and Huntsville, while I-85, another north-south (running east-west in the city) freeway, leads northeast to
Atlanta, and serves as the southern terminus of the route. Montgomery is also served by
other major highways which loop around the city: U.S. Highway 31, U.S. Highway 80, U.S. Highway 82, U.S. Highway 231, U.S. Highway 331 and State Route 152. The Montgomery Area Transitprovides public transportation with buses serving the city. The major airport serving
Montgomery is Dannelly Field, otherwise known as the Montgomery Regional
Airport.
City government
The current mayor of Montgomery is Bobby Bright. Bright
was elected mayor in the 1999 municipal elections, defeating longtime mayor
Emory Folmar. Bright was re-elected in a landslide against challenger Scott Simmons in the
2003 and 2007 municipal elections.
The city is served by a nine-member city council, which is composed of nine districts of
equal size. The city council is responsible for establishing the city of Montgomery's policies. The current council president is
Charles Jinright. The Montgomery City Council meets every first Tuesday of the month at 10:00 am and every third Tuesday of the
month at 5:00 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall downtown.
Current Mayor
| Bobby Bright |
Current City Council Membership
| District |
Representative |
Position |
| I |
Jim Spear |
Councilman |
| II |
Tim Head |
Councilman |
| III |
Janet May |
Councilwoman |
| IV |
James Nuckles |
Councilman |
| V |
Cornelius Calhoun |
Councilman |
| VI |
Willie Cook |
Councilman |
| VII |
Martha Roby |
Councilwoman |
| VIII |
Glen Pruitt, Jr. |
Councilman |
| IX |
Charles Jinright |
Councilman |
Notable points
The State Capitol, built in 1850
Media
Local TV
Local radio
Montgomery, AL is ranked #151 by Arbitron.
Events
Education
School System
Montgomery County is served by the Montgomery Public Schools system. The county is also home
to a host of private/parochial schools.
Elementary Schools
- Bear Exploration Center School,
Montgomery
- Wynton M. Blount Elementary School, Montgomery
- Brewbaker Primary School, Montgomery
- Brewbaker Intermediate School, Montgomery
- G.W. Carver Elementary School, Montgomery
- Catoma Elementary School, Montgomery
- Peter Crump Elementary School, Montgomery
- Dalraida Elementary School,
Montgomery
- Dannelly Elementary School, Montgomery
- Dozier Elementary School, Montgomery
- Dunbar-Ramer School, Ramer
- Flowers Elementary School, Montgomery
- Floyd Elementary School, Montgomery
- Forest Avenue Elementary
Academics, Montgomery
- Garrett Elementary School, Montgomery
- Halcyon Elementary School, Montgomery
- Hayneville Road Elementary School, Hayneville
- Head Elementary School, Montgomery
- Highland Avenue Elementary
School, Montgomery
- Highland Gardens Elementary School. Montgomery
- Martin Luther King Elementary School, Montgomery
- MacMillan International
Academy, Montgomery
- Our Lady Queen of Mercy School,
Montgomery
- Morningview Elementary School, Montgomery
- Paterson Elementary School, Montgomery
- Pintlala Elementary School, Pintlala
- Trinity Presbyterian School, Montgomery
- T.S. Morris Elementary School, Montgomery
- Vaughn Road Elementary School,
Montgomery
- Wares Ferry Elementary School, Montgomery
Junior High Schools
- Baldwin Arts and Academics Magnet
Middle School, Montgomery
- Bellingrath Middle School, Montgomery
- Brewbaker Junior High School
- Dunbar-Ramer School, Ramer
- McKee Junior High School, Montgomery
- Capital Heights Junior High
School, Montgomery
- G.W. Carver Junior High School, Montgomery
- Floyd Middle Magnet School,
Montgomery
- Georgia Washington Junior High School, Pike Road
- Goodwyn Junior High School, Montgomery
- Houston Hills Junior High School, Montgomery
- Trinity Presbyterian School, Montgomery
High Schools
- Alabama Christian Academy,
Montgomery
- Bethany Christian Academy, Montgomery
- Calvary Christian Academy, Montgomery
- Churchill Academy
- Eastwood Christian School, Montgomery
- Evangel Christian Academy, Montgomery
- Evangel Family Christian Academy Home School,
Montgomery
- Fews Secondary Alternative School, Montgomery
- Green Gate School, Montgomery
- Holy Cross Episcopal School
- Hooper Academy, Hope Hull
- Macon-East Montgomery Academy, Cecil
- Montgomery Academy,
Montgomery
- Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School,
Montgomery
- Saint James School, Montgomery
- Taylor Road Academy, Montgomery
- Trinity Presbyterian School, Montgomery
|
Higher education
Montgomery is home to a variety of colleges and universities, including:
Nearby towns
The Montgomery Metro area includes the following nearby towns:
Possible name influences
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, 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 shot 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, located at 251 S. Lawrence St.
Neighborhoods
|
|
- Cloverdale-Idlewild
- Cottage Hill
- Cross Creek
- Forest Hills
- Forest Park
- Fox Hollow
- Garden District, The
- 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
- Lockwood
- McGehee Estates
- McGehee Place
- Melrose
|
|
Publications
- L. P. Powell (editor), in Historic Towns of the Southern States, (New York, 1900)
- Jeffry C. Benton (editor) A Sense of Place, Montgomery's Architectural History ( )
See also
References
External links
Coordinates:
32.361538° N 86.279118°
W
