Montgomery History Facts and Timeline

(Montgomery, Alabama - AL, USA)

Before Europeans arrived in Montgomery, the history books show how the city was home to two sizeable Native American communities. These tribes lived on opposite sides of the Alabama River, where they were known as the Alibamus and the Coushattas. The Montgomery of today is actually situated on the site of two of these Alibamu settlements.

The earliest Europeans to set foot in Montgomery came through the center of Alabama in 1540, being led by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. They set up camp here for a few days and investigated the area. It is also believed that other colonists traveled through this part of Alabama, heading to the northwestern side of Georgia.

It was not until roughly 150 years later, at the very end of the 17th century, that the next significant European activity arrived in the area. A couple of decades later, in the year 1716, a trader originating from Scotland chose to settle here, marking an important year in the history of Montgomery. He joined the Coushatta tribe and married one of the native women.

The Building of Fort Toulouse

Just one year later, the French spotted the strategic potential of the Montgomery area and decided to build fortifications roughly 20 miles / 32 km to the northeast, in the town today known as Wetumpka. They named this structure Fort Toulouse and a reconstruction of this important building is still standing here today, being declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

British Territory

After the end of the French and Indian War (1754 to 1763), the British were in control of all the land located on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. A few years later, borders were decided, separating the regions of West Florida and the Indian Reserve, with the boundary line running close to northern Montgomery.

Following the Creek War (1813 to 1814), the Muscogee peoples (the Creeks) were forced to relinquish control of the majority of their Alabama land (more than 36,000 square miles / 93,250 square kilometers), including the region around Montgomery. The settlement slowly began to grow and European immigrants gradually swelled the population towards the end of the second decade of the 19th century, particularly after the founding of Montgomery County in 1816.

Alabama Town and New Philadelphia

The earliest significant European-American community in the Montgomery area was Alabama Town, which in 1818 was situated just a matter of minutes downstream of the city's present-day downtown district. New Philadelphia came into being shortly afterwards and was sited on the eastern side of today's downtown Montgomery.

The founder of New Philadelphia, forward-thinking Andrew Dexter, had grand designs for his town and hoped that one day it might become the territory's capital. He therefore allocated 'Goat Hill' as a possible site for a State Capitol Building in the future. The town quickly flourished and a suburb known as East Alabama Town was created, with the two towns merging soon after in 1819, when they were officially incorporated as a city named Montgomery.

An Expanding City

History remembers how Montgomery grew into an extremely prosperous city, off the back of a successful cotton trade, and in the early 1820s it was awarded the title of county seat. A courthouse was quickly erected and the city gained itself a structured layout of streets and houses.

In 1846, it was decided that Montgomery should become the new state capital, procuring this prestigious mantle from Tuscaloosa (roughly 100 miles / 161 km to the northwest). This was due to the success and size of the city, together with its convenient central location in Alabama

State Capitol

The Alabama State Capitol was subsequently commissioned and built on Goat Hill, being completed in time for the legislature meetings of 1847 and 1848. However, the success of this landmark was very short-lived, since it was destroyed by fire the following year. It was completely rebuilt, using the original plans and Greek Revival-style architecture, and opened for business once more in 1851, with gas-powered street lights following soon after.

The importance of Montgomery as state capital resulted in a continued expansion of the city's boundaries, with the city playing a major role in state politics. When the Confederate States of America was formed in 1861, it was Montgomery that was named as the nation's first capital city. At this time in the city's history, Jefferson Finis Davis was inaugurated as US president, right outside the city's very own State Capitol Building.

A Modern City Emerges

Many important dates in the history of Montgomery followed over the decades, such as the installation of electric street cars in 1886, and the arrival of the Wright Flying School (of Wright Brothers' fame) in 1910. In 1919, the city was the birthplace of Nathaniel Adams Coles, who later became American music legend Nat King Cole.

The year of 1954 was another notable time, since Martin Luther King, Jr. became the minister for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Various civil rights movements and demonstrations followed, including the historic Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 1985, the world-famous Alabama Shakespeare Festival was relocated to Montgomery (from Anniston), while in 1989, local Kathryn Thornton became the world's first woman to join a military space mission, onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. More recently, in 2002, Hyundai began work on its factory on the outskirts of the city, employing around 2,000 people and producing more than 300,000 vehicles annually.