Old Cahawba [AL]

Description

From 1819 to 1826, Cahawba served as Alabama's first capital. It was once a thriving antebellum river town, a major distribution point for cotton shipped down the Alabama River to Mobile, a Confederate prison for captured Union soldiers, and a rural community of African-American families. By 1900, however, most of Cahawba's buildings had burned, collapsed, or had been dismantled. A place of picturesque ruins, Cahawba today is an important archaeological site with an extensive descendants' network.

The site offers tours, exhibits, and educational programs.

Historic Mobile Preservation Society [AL]

Description

The Historic Mobile Preservation Society was founded in 1935 in order to help preserve the history of Mobile, Alabama. The society's main attraction is the Oakleigh Historic Complex, which consists of a historic house museum, local history museum, and historic archives. The Oakleigh home is fitted with 19th century antique furniture, and is open to visitors year round. The society also owns the Cox-Deasy House, which is also operated as a historic house museum.

The society offers guided tours, research resources, and special events. The website offers a history of the Oakleigh home, resources for fourth grade teachers, and visitor information.

International Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum [AL]

Description

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is located in Talladega, Alabama, and serves both as a Hall of Fame and as a museum of motorsports. The Hall of Fame has been open since 1990 and currently has well over 100 inductees. The museum chronicles the history and technology of motorsports, and features an impressive collection of vintage and modern racing cars, including Richard Petty's Dodge Charger and the first vehicle to break the speed of sound on land.

The museum offers self-guided tours, exhibits, a research library, and tours of the adjacent Talladega Superspeedway. The website offers a photo gallery of the museum, brief biographies of all inductees, a virtual tour, a history of the Hall of Fame, and general visitor information.

Dothan Landmark Park [AL]

Description

The Dothan Landmark Park presents the history of southeastern Alabama. Site features include a living history farm, set in the 1890s; a one-room schoolhouse; a historic church; and a historic general store. Exhibits discuss agriculture and wildlife.

The park offers exhibits, living history interpreters, nature trails, a planetarium, and a picnic site.

Vulcan Park and Museum [AL]

Description

Vulcan Park and Museum is an educational park which presents the industrial history of Alabama. It is named after the world's largest cast iron statue, located within the park and created by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti (1857-1935). The statue was originally created for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The site also includes an interactive history museum which presents the histories of Vulcan and Birmingham, Alabama.

The site offers interactive and traditional exhibits, a scavenger hunt, guided tours, a 30-minute living history performance, an interactive and educational children's dance program, and a teacher's guide. Teacher's guides are shipped on request. The website offers post-visit activities.

Burritt on the Mountain: A Living Museum [AL]

Description

The 163-acre Burrit on the Mountain: A Living Museum consists of the 1936 mansion of Dr. William Henry Burrit, physician and inventor; a historic park with restored 19th-century houses and period crops; a barnyard; and animals. Exhibits cover the history of the land and people of Tennessee and Alabama's Southern Cumberland region. Living history demonstrations include blacksmithing, spinning, and cooking over an open hearth.

The museum offers exhibits, period rooms, living history interpreters, demonstrations, nature trails, educational programs, summer camps, Field Trip Fridays, monthly home school programs, traveling trunks for rent, and in-classroom outreach programs. Reservations are required for Field Trip Fridays.

Oakleigh Historic House [AL]

Description

The Oakleigh Historic House presents society, working class, and servant life in the mid 20th century along the Gulf Coast. The Greek Revival structure was built circa 1833 as the home of James W. Roper, cotton factor. The 1850 Cook's house served as the property slave quarters, and the 1850 Cox-Deasy House presents local history circa World War II.

The site offers period rooms and guided tours of the main house.

Alabama Department of Archives and History [AL]

Description

The Alabama Department of Archives and History preserves the history of Alabama, maintaining an extensive archive of primary and secondary source material from and on the history of Alabama as well as a museum which features exhibits and hosts events regarding Alabama history.

The Department offers lecture series, guided tours of the museum and archives, and interactive media for children. The website offers educational resources including worksheets, interactive online activities, resources for teachers, and links to other online historical resources. The website also offers online exhibits, a virtual tour of the archives, and historical information about Alabama.

Belle Mont Mansion [AL]

Description

Magnificently sited on a commanding hilltop, Belle Mont is one of early Alabama's crowning architectural achievements. It is also one of the outstanding Palladian-style houses in the Deep South. Mystery shrouds the source of the design, but tantalizing clues suggest the direct influence of President and gentleman architect Thomas Jefferson. Rescued from ruin in the 1980s, it is now undergoing a phased-restoration.

The site offers tours by appointment.

Alabama State Capitol [AL]

Description

Completed in 1851, this National Historic Landmark is a museum of state history and politics. Additions to the building were made several times. The Confederacy began in the original Senate chamber and the Selma to Montgomery 1965 Voting Rights March ended on the street in front of the building. Today, the governor and other executive branch officers still occupy offices in the Capitol.

The site offers exhibits and tours.