After the battle came the
night. It was the night of March 27, 1814. The soldiers stretched wearily by
the campfires. General Andrew Jackson sat in his tent at Horseshoe Bend and
thought of the great victory. At last he had broken the power of the Creek Indians.
Hundreds of warriors lay dead in the sweeping bend of the Tallapoosa River.

Across the river, deep in
the forest, a man stood motionless and alone. He was William Weatherford, also
known as Red Eagle, a leader of the Creeks. He had escaped from the battle, and
he would be hunted.

Yet Red Eagle did not flee.
He thought of the Creek women and children hiding in the forest without food or
protection. He sighed and made a decision. He would offer his life in exchange
for food and safety for his people.

Red Eagle crossed the dark
river and stood before Jackson, waiting for death. But Jack-son, admiring his
courage, allowed Red Eagle to leave in peace. Before long the Creeks and other
tribes left Alabama, and settlers took the land.

One of Alabama's nicknames, Heart of Dixie,
comes from the fact that the state is located in the heart, or center, of the
South. There are several stories about the origin of the word
"Dixie." Perhaps it came from the French word dix, meaning
"ten." This word was printed on $10 bills used in the state of
Louisiana before the Civil War. The bills were called dixies, and the name
Dixie, or Dixie Land, came to be used for all the cotton-growing states.

Alabama has a long history as a farming
area. The Indians were its first farmers. Long before European settlers came to
the New World, the Indians cleared the thickets-thick growths of shrubs,
bushes, and vines

—along Alabama's rivers and carried on agriculture.
Then settlers took the land, and fields of fluffy cotton began to stretch across
Alabama. For years the state was known as a land of cotton. But the time came
when Alabama's farmers realized that it was not wise to depend on a single
crop. They began to grow. many different kinds of crops and to raise hogs,
cattle, and chickens. Today leaders of the state say that Alabama's farms can
produce enough foods to give every one of its citizens a well-balanced diet
without hav­ing to repeat a menu for 30 days.

Roaring blast furnaces at Birmingham show that
factories as well as farms are im­portant in Alabama. Birmingham is known as the Pittsburgh of the South because of
its steel mills. It is the largest of Alabama's in­dustrial cities. There are
many others.

The U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, located at
Huntsville, took Alabama into the space age. Here scientists worked on the
Jupiter C rocket. This rocket hurled the nation's first successful satellite
into orbit. Huntsville is also known for the Redstone III rocket and the
Saturn. The Redstone III boosted the nation's first astronaut into outer space.
The Saturn enabled U.S. astronauts to land on the moon. Later, the space
shuttle was tested at Huntsville.

The map on the state seal proudly displays Alabama's
rivers. They have always

been important for transportation. Dams
in some of the rivers have great power plants. These plants supply electric
power to help light Alabama's farms and cities and to run its factories. The
dams also create strings of sparkling lakes, where residents and visitors can
enjoy fishing, boating, and other forms of recreation. Besides its rivers and
lakes, Alabama has a share of the Gulf of Mexico. Mobile, on beautiful Mobile
Bay, is one of the important ports of the nation.

Timber from the
forest and fish from the sea add to Alabama's wealth. Many of the people still
grow cotton and corn, but agriculture alone is no longer the main concern of
the state.

CAPITAL: Montgomery.

STATEHOOD: December 14, 1819; the 22nd state.
SIZE: 133.915 km² (51,705 sq mi); rank, 29th.

POPULATION: 3.893,888 (1980 census);
rank, 22nd.

ORIGIN OF NAME:
From the Alibamu. or Alabamu.
tribe of Indians, members of the Creek Confederacy. The name may have come from
words in the Choctaw language, alba ayamule, meaning "I clear the
thicket."

ABBREVIATIONS: Ala.; AL.

NICKNAMES:
Heart of Dixie, from its location in the center of the Deep South. Yellowhammer
State, from Civil Wa'r times, when troops from Alabama were called
Yellowhammers.

STATE
SONG:
"Alabama," by Julia S. Tutwiler; music by Edna Goeckel Gussen.

STATE MOTTO: Audemus
jura nostra defendere (We " dare defend our rights).

STATE SEAL: A
map of Alabama showing the bordering states, the Gulf of Mexico, and the major
rivers.

STATE COAT OF ARMS: The
shield in the center contains the emblems of five governments that have ruled
over Alabama—France (upper left), Spain (upper right), Great Britain (lower
left), the Confederacy (lower right), and the United States (center). The
eagles on each side of the shield represent courage. They stand on a banner
that carries the state motto. The ship above the shield shows that Alabama
borders on water.

STATE FLAG A
crimson field. cross of St. Andrew on a white.

THE
LAND

Alabama is one of the East South
Central group of states. It could be called an Appalachian state or a Gulf
state. The southern end of the Appalachian Mountain system extends into Alabama
and covers the northeastern part of the state. The Gulf of Mexico forms a small
but important part of Alabama's southern border.

Landforms

Within the state of Alabama there are three major
landforms. They are the Interior Low Plateau, the Appalachian Highlands, and
the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Gulf Coastal Plain is the largest of the three
regions. It lies south of a line that begins in the northwestern corner of the
state, runs southeastward through the city of Tuscaloosa, and continues to
Phenix City, on the eastern border.

The Interior Low Plateau enters Alabama from the
state of Tennessee and covers a small area in the extreme northwest. The
average elevation of this part of Alabama is 210 meters (700 feet). It is a
region of knobby hills, cut through by the broad valley of the Tennessee River.

The Appalachian Highlands include three areas. They
arc the Appalachian Plateau, the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, and the
Piedmont Plateau. The average elevation of the highlands varies from 150 to 200
meters (500 to 700 feet), with most of the highest points in the Ridge and
Valley Region.

  The Appalachian Plateau,
also known as the Cumberland Plateau, enters the northeast corner of the state
and extends southwest-ward. This plateau is rather rugged. It has some good
farmland, but it is mainly an area of lumbering and mining.

The Appalachian
Ridge and Valley Region is made up of narrow valleys between steep mountain
ridges. It is known for its mineral riches and forests of oak and pine.

The Piedmont
Plateau is a wedge-shaped area southeast of the Ridge and Valley Region. It
gets its name from the word pied-mont, which means "lying at the
base, or foot, of mountains." This region is generally hilly, with some
rolling land. The most rugged part is in the northwest, where Cheaha Mountain
rises to 734 meters (2,407 feet).

The Gulf Coastal Plain is mainly a flat to rolling
plain. Ages ago it was covered by oceans. The part adjoining the Appalachian

Highlands is called the Upper Coastal
Plain. This is the oldest part, as well as the highest in elevation. South of
it is a strip of nearly level land known as the Black Belt because of its
dark-colored soils. The southeastern quar­ter of the state is known as the Wire
Grass area because it was once covered with a kind of coarse grass called wire
grass.

For many years the Coastal Plain was
the heart of the cotton fields. It is changing gradually to an area where
livestock graze and many different crops are grown.

Rivers, Lakes,
and Coastal Waters

Alabama is drained by three major
river systems. The Tennessee River dips down' into Alabama from the state of
Tennessee. It flows westward through northern Alabama and then northward to
join the Ohio River. The other major rivers of Alabama flow toward the Gulf of
Mexico. The Mobile River system is made up of several important rivers. The
Tombigbee River and its main tributary, the Black Warrior River, drain the
western part of the state. The Coosa and the Talla-poosa rivers flow through
east central and eastern Alabama. They join near Montgomery to form the Alabama
River, which flows southwestward toward the Tombigbee. North of Mobile, the
Alabama and the Tombigbee rivers join to form the Mobile River, which drains
southward into Mobile Bay. The Chat-tnhoochee is the major river of
southeastern Alabama. Guntcrsvillc Lake is the largest of the many lakes in the
state.

The Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom)
Waterway project was designed to provide a water route from the Tennessee
Valley to the Gulf of Mexico, by way of the Tombigbee River. It includes a
canal in the northeastern corner of Mississippi that links the rivers.

Alabama's general coastline on the
Gulf of Mexico is 85 kilometers (53 miles) long. If the shorelines of inlets,
bays, and offshore islands are added, the total shoreline is 977 kilometers
(607 miles).

Climate

People sometimes think of Alabama as
an uncomfortably hot, tropical state, but this impression is false. Actually,
there is a wide variety of climate from the highlands of the north to the
beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.

Winter temperatures in the southern half of the state
rarely drop below freezing. Snow is so rare that many children have never seen
a snowfall. In the northern part of the state, winters are not so mild.
Northwest winds bring cold snaps, but they are usually
short and are followed by mild weather.

Summer temperatures tend to be
about the same over the state. The summer is long, but extended heat waves are
almost unknown. Along the coast the hot days are relieved by frequent breezes
blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico. Nights are cool and comfortable even in
midsummer. In the north, summer temperatures are relieved by the higher
altitudes and by cool forest shade. Spring and autumn are long and delightful.
Autumn extends from early September to well after Thanksgiving.

THE LAND

LOCATION:
Latitude—30° 13' N to
35" N

.Longitude—84" to 53' W to 88° 28' W.

Tennessee to the
north, Mississippi on the west, the Florida panhandle and the Gulf of Mexico to
the south, Georgia on the east.

ELEVATION:
Highest—Cheaha
Mountain, 734 m (2,407 ft). Lowest—Sea level, along the Gulf of Mexico.

LANDFORMS:
Highlands (the Interior Low Plateau and the Appalachian Highlands) in the
northern part of the state; lowlands (the Gulf Coastal Plain) in the south and
west.

SURFACE WATERS: Major
rivers—Tennessee; Tombigbee, with its main tributary, the Black Warrior;
Coosa and Tallapoosa, which join to form the Alabama; Mobile, formed by the
joining of the Alabama and the Tombigbee;

Chattahoochee.
Major artificial lakes—Pickwick, Wilson, Wheeler, and Guntersville, on the
Tennessee River; Lay, Mitchell, Weiss, and Jordan, on .the Coosa; Martin and
Thurlow, on the Tallapoosa; Holt Reservoir on the Black Warrior.

CLIMATE: Temperature—July
average, about 27°C (80°F) statewide. January average, about 7°C (44°F) in
north, 12°C (53°F) in south. Precipitation—Rainfall average, 1,350 mm
(53 in); varies from 1,320 mm (52 in) in north to 1,730 mm (68 in) along the
coast. Growing season—Varies from about 200 days in north to 300 days in
south.

Natural Resources

Leaders of the state like to say that Alabama has more
natural resources than any other area of its size in the world. These resources
include soils, minerals, forests, and water.

Soils. Alabama may be divided into several major soil
areas. Along the Coosa and the Tennessee rivers, there are valleys called
limestone valleys. The soils in these valleys are mainly red clay loams. They
were formed by the weathering of limestone rock. The soils of the Appalachian
Plateau are mainly sandy loams. Red sandy loams and clay loams cover much pf
the Piedmont Plateau. The soils of the Gulf Coastal Plain were formed from
sediment laid down in the oceans that once covered the plain. Most of these
soils are sandy loams or clay soils.

Long years of growing cotton and corn lowered the
fertility of Alabama's soils. The abundant rainfall also caused the topsoil to
be washed away. In many places, especially in the Piedmont Plateau and the
Black Belt, farms are now planted in grasses to improve the soil and provide
pasture for cattle.

Forests. About 60 per cent of all the land of Alabama
is forested. Many kinds of trees are found, but the soft pine is the most
common. It is also the most valuable for wood pulp, which is used for making
paper. The pine forests grow mainly in the central and southern parts of the
state.

To improve worn-out soils, farmers have developed many
tree farms for future harvest. Paper companies, farmers, and the government all
help in a continuing program of reforestation.

Minerals. Most of Alabama's minerals are in the
northern half of the state. Coal and iron ore are found in the Appalachian
Plateau and in the Ridge and Valley Region. One of the largest deposits, or
fields, of coal is the Warrior field. It extends through all of Walker County
and parts of Fayette, Tuscaloosa, and Jefferson counties. Some of the best beds
of iron ore are in the Birmingham area.

Limestone occurs in the Tennessee Valley and in the
Ridge and Valley Region, as well as in areas of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Marble
is found in Coosa and Talladega counties.

Petroleum
is the most important mineral of the Gulf Coastal Plain. It has been found in
the extreme southwestern counties. There are important salt deposits north of
Mobile. Henry and Barbour counties, as well as other parts of the state, have
deposits of bauxite, a claylike mineral from which aluminum is obtained.

Waters. Alabama's water is one of
its most valuable resources. The supply is abundant. Mainly it is soft, pure
water that does not require treatment before being used in homes and
industries.

Hydroelectric
plants line the Coosa, Talla-poosa, Tennessee, Chattahoochee, and Black Warrior
rivers. Along the rivers there arc also steam power plants, fed by Alabama's
coal. Additional plants are now being built or planned. They will provide ample
power for years to come.

Wildlife. Alabama has more than 300
species of birds. Among the largest are bald eagles, hawks, ospreys, and wild
turkeys, ducks, and geese. Rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, and
white-tailed deer are found in most of the state, and black bears in some
areas. Fresh-water fish include bass, perch, bluegill, and trout. Some
fisheries have been closed by mercury pollution.

In 1955 the
tarpon was named the state salt-water fish. It is a big fighting fish found in
the warm, blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It has no commercial value. The
main products of the sea fisheries are shrimp, oysters, and crabs.

THE PEOPLE AND THEIR WORK

     There are very few foreign-born
people living in Alabama. The majority are descend­

ants of European settlers who came to
the area in colonial times. About one third of the people are blacks whose
ancestors were brought to the South as slaves. Among the people of Indian
heritage, the most active organized group is the Creek Nation East of the
Mississippi, at Atmore.

In 1960, for the first time, more
Alabam-ians lived in cities than in rural areas. The number of persons who work
on farms has dropped steadily since the 1940's. And the number who work in
manufacturing and other kinds of jobs has continued to grow.

Industries and Products

For some time the value of products
manu­factured in Alabama has been far greater than the value of livestock and
crops and of the different kinds of minerals that are pro­duced in the state.

Manufacturing. The mast important indus­tries
are the ones that manufacture metals, textiles, chemicals, and forest products.
Many of the industries make use of Alabama's own raw materials.

The areas around Birmingham and
Gads­den are the only places in the nation where iron ore, coal, and limestone
are found close together. These are basic raw materials needed in the making of
steel. About 90 per­cent of all the steel making in the South is carried on in
Alabama, mostly in and around Birmingham, Anniston, and Gadsden. New factories
that make products from iron and steel continue to spring up throughout the
state, mainly along the water routes.

Around Mobile, as well as in other
areas, there are plants that extract aluminum from bauxite. These plants
provide metal for factories in the Tennessee Valley that make aluminum
products. A large copper-tubing plant at Decatur, on the Tennessee River, is a
new development for Alabama.

The textile industry produces yarn and
thread, woven fabrics, clothing, and other goods. Textile mills are spread
throughout the state.

WHAT ALABAMA PRODUCES

MANUFACTURED
GOODS:
Primary metals, paper and related products, chemicals and related products,
fabricated metal products, textiles, rubber and plastic products, clothing,
processed foods.

AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS:
Broilers, cattle and calves, soybeans, eggs, peanuts, cotton, milk.

MINERALS:
Coal, petroleum, natural gas. Iron ore, cement, stone, sand and gravel, lime.

Many of the chemical industries make use of coal tar, a
tar that is left from the process of making coke. Some of the by-products of
coal tar are medicines, explosives, dyes, and plastics. The salt deposits near
Mobile pro­vide raw material for the making of chlorine products, such as
bleaches, disinfectants, and water purifiers. At Muscle Shoals in north­western
Alabama there is a federal plant where fertilizers and munitions are developed
for the benefit of agriculture and industry.

Alabama ranks among the first five
timber producers in the nation. The forests supply lumber for furniture and
other wood products as well as wood pulp for the paper industries. The first
pulp and paper plant in the state was built at Tuscaloosa in 1929. Other cities
that now have large pulp mills are Mobile and Brewton, in southern Alabama, and
De-mopolis, in the western part of the state. Most of the pulp is made into
finished products such as newsprint, stationery, corrugated boxes, and kraft
paper. Kraft paper is the strong brown paper used in grocery bags.

Agriculture. In Enterprise, Alabama, there is a
monument to the boll weevil. It is perhaps the only monument in the world to an
insect pest. The monument was erected in 1919 after the boll weevil destroyed
the cotton crops. It reminds Alabama's farmers of the part that the boll weevil
played in teaching them not to depend on cotton alone for their living.

For a long time cotton ranked first
among Alabama's crops, but today cotton brings only a fraction of the total
income from crops. Alabama also produces substantial amounts of soybeans, peanuts,
corn, hay, sweet potatoes and other garden vegetables, and fruits and pecans.
Some crops are identified with particular areas. Soybeans are grown extensively
in the Black Belt and around Mobile Bay. Peanuts are a main crop in the Wire
Grass area. Strawberries are grown commercially around Cullman in Cullman
County, Clanton in Chilton County, and Georgiana in Butler County. Clanton is
also known for peaches. Truck farming is carried on in many areas.

An interesting fact about Alabama's
agriculture is that since 1958 livestock sales have brought more income than
crops. Cattle are raised chiefly in the Black Belt and hogs in the Wire Grass
area. Poultry raising is concen­trated north of Birmingham. Dairying is carried
on throughout the state.

Mining. Alabama is well-known for its
production of coal, cement, and limestone. A number of other' minerals are
produced in varying quantities including petroleum, iron ore, clays and shale,
mica, sand and gravel, bauxite, gold, silver, and manganese. Marble from Alabama's
quarries is sold throughout the United States.

The first producing oil well began
operating near Gilbertown, in Choctaw County, in 1944. Later, oil was found in
Escambia County and near Citronelle, in Mobile County. There arc more than 200
producing wells in southwestern Alabama. In the northwest a large natural gas
field is being developed.

Transportation
and Communication

Waterways,
railroads, highways, and airways connect Alabama to other parts of tlic nation.
The port of Mobile connects the state to the seaports of the world.

Waterways. Alabama has the finest
river system in the nation. The U.S. Corps of Engineers  classifies   large 
portions   of its rivers as suitable for navigation. Millions of dollars have
been spent to develop the harbor and build docks at Mobile, to widen and deepen
the channels of the rivers, and to build public docks along the waterways.

The Black Warrior and Tombigbee
waterway extends all the way from the port of Mobile to Jefferson and Walker
counties. This waterway carries great quantities of limestone as well as
millions of tons of cargo for the industries of Birmingham and other cities
along the rivers. The Alabama River provides water transportation between
Mobile and the capital city, Montgomery. The Tennessee River is the main water
route of northern Alabama. The Chattahoochee waterway, on the east border of
the state, serves the cities of Columbia, Eufaula, and Phenix City.

Railroads and Highways.   Alabama was among the
pioneers in railroad building. Its first railway, between Decatur and Muscle
Shoals, was completed in 1832. Today Ala­bama's railroads are used largely for
freight. Hubs of state, federal, and interstate highway systems are Birmingham
and Montgomery.

Airlines.   Several airlines
provide com­mercial flights to cities in different parts of the state. Frequent
daily schedules are avail­able from major centers. Most of the inter­state
traffic uses the airports at Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile. Alabama's
system of local airfields, with paved and lighted run­ways for smaller planes,
is considered to be among the best in the nation.

Newspapers, Radio, and
Television. Almost every city has its own local newspaper. More than 100 newspapers
are published in the state, but only about 20 are dailies. Among the more
influential daily newspapers are the Alabama Journal and the Montgomery
Advertiser, both published at Montgomery, and the Birmingham News.
The Mobile Press-Register, originally the Gazette, is one of the
oldest newspapers in the state. It was founded in 1815.

Birmingham had the state's first
licensed radio station, WBRC, in 1925, and the first television stations, WABT
and WBRC-TV, both in 1949. In 1955 Alabama began operating one of the first
state-owned educational television networks (ETV) in the nation. Stations of
this network are capable of reaching almost all the people in the state.

EDUCATION

Alabama is proud of its natural resources
and its industrial development in recent years. State and community leaders
also recognize the importance
of developing its educational and cultural institutions.

Schools and
Colleges

The first teachers in Alabama were
probably French and Spanish priests who gave instruction to the Indians. In
1799 a New England cotton merchant, John Pierce, opened a school for the children
of wealthy settlers in the Mobile Bay area. It was the kind of pioneer school
known as a blab .school because the pupils studied by repeating their lessons
aloud.

When Alabama became a state in 1819,
an attempt was made to establish a system of public schools. The attempt
failed, as did others in later years, largely because of a lack of money.
Private schools sprang up to edu­cate the children of parents who could afford
to pay. It was not until after the Civil War that the state was able to make progress
toward establishing its present system of public elementary schools, high
schools, and colleges.

Alabama has more than 50 institutions
of higher education. About half of these are 2-year institutions, mainly
state-supported junior or community colleges. The others are universities and
senior colleges.

The University of Alabama at
Tuscaloosa (post office address, University) is Alabama's oldest college. It
was established by the legislature in 1820. Other state-supported universities
are located at Auburn, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, Jacksonville,
Livingston, Mobile, Montcvallo, Montgomery, Normal, and Troy. Tuskegcc
Institute, the famous school established by Booker T. Washington in 1881, is
partly supported by the state.

Libraries

Throughout the state there are many
pub lic and private libraries. The largest public libraries are in Birmingham,
Montgomery, and Mobile. The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, on the campus of the
University of Alabama, is one of the largest libraries in the entire South.

Fine Arts and
Museums

Most high schools and junior high
schools in the state have bands or orchestras. The Birmingham Civic Symphony
gives annual concerts in the city. It also tours the state.

Before the Civil War, architecture was
one of the most important fine arts. Some of the beautiful homes that were
built before the war may be seen in the older cities, such as Selma,
Huntsville, Eufaula, Greensboro, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.

The Art Museum at Birmingham and the
Museum of Fine Arts at Montgomery have large collections of paintings. The
following arc among the other noted museums:

The Alabama Museum of Natural History, at

the University of Alabama, has an
excellent display of rocks and minerals.

Mound State Monument, a state park and museum
at Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, preserves ancient mounds that Indians built for
their temples, council" houses, and burial places. Relics from the grounds
in the park, such as skeletons, tools, ornaments, and pottery, are displayed in
the museum.

The Regar Museum of Natural
History, at Anniston, contains an unusual display of 900 specimens of
birds, with nests and eggs.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Some of the many other interesting places have been
made by people. Some, such as mountains, forests, and white sand beaches, arc
nature's own work.

Historic
Places

Many historic treasures
are preserved in Alabama's museums. The following are a few of the historic
places in various parts of the state:

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, on

the Tallapoosa River, marks the site of
General Andrew Jackson's victory over the Creek Indians.

The Natchez Trace Parkway crosses the
northwestern corner of Alabama. It extends from Natchez, Mississippi, to
Nashville, Tennessee. The parkway commemorates a famous Indian trail and
pioneer highway.

Russell Cave National Monument, at Bridgeport in
northeast Alabama, was established in 1961. In the cave, scientists have found
records of almost continuous human habitation from at least 6000 b.c. to about a.d. 1650.

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site includes Tuskegee Institute, the
George Washington Carver Museum, and Booker T. Washington's home. The museum
includes displays of African art and George Washington Carver's agricultural
experiments.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,

at Mobile, stands on land that the
first settlers used as a burying ground.

The State Capitol, Montgomery,
is a stately building, similar in appearance to the National Capitol. For the
first few months of the Civil War, it served as the capitol of the Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis' Home, in Montgomery, is known as
the first White House of the Confederacy because it was here that President
Davis lived when Montgomery was the Confederate capital.

Parks and Forests

Alabama has four national forests. The
Talladega National Forest has two sections, one in the central part of the
state and the other in the east. The William B. Bankhead National Forest,
formerly the Black Warrior National Forest, is in the northwest. The Tuskegee,
smallest of the national forests, is in the east, and the Conecuh is in the
south.

State parks and forests total about
30. They are planned to conserve the natural beauty of the state and to provide
places where people may go for outdoor recreation—picnicking, camping, hiking
and nature study, fishing and other water sports.

Other
Attractions

The following are among other places that attract
visitors from all over the nation and the world:

Ave Maria Grotto, at St. Bernard, near
Cull-man, displays more than 100 small reproductions of famous religious
buildings of the world.

The Azalea Trail, in Mobile, is
a 55-kilometer (35-mile) trail of flowers that leads through residential parts
of the city, past historic homes and buildings.

Bellingrath Gardens and
Home,
south of Mobile, is a beautifully "landscaped estate. Here the finest
flowers, shrubs, and trees have been brought together in a setting of great
natural beauty. The home is noted for its rich furnishings and priceless art
objects.

Cathedral Caverns, north ofGuntersville,
contains a large forest of stalagmites and one cavern 27 meters (90 feet) deep.

Ivy Green, in Tuscumbia, is Helen
Keller's birthplace and childhood home.

Vulcan Statue, at the summit of Red
Mountain, Birmingham, is a statue of the god of fire. It was made of iron from
the local area and is said to be one of the largest statues in the world.

Annual Events

Many of Alabama's annual events center upon
sports, the products of the state, and the interests and traditions of the
people. From the early French settlers. Mobile inherited the celebration of
Mardi Gras. Mobile's Mardi Gras festival is the oldest such celebration in the
United States. It begins on the Friday before the first day of Lent and reaches
its high point on the night of Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

Mobile celebrates the azalea season from
late February to early April, when thousands of visitors tour the Azalea Trail.
The Deep-Sea Fishing Rodeo, at Mobile and Dauphin Island, climaxes the fishing
season, usually late in July or early in August.

Other events include the state fair at
Birmingham, in September, and the River Boat Regatta at Guntersville, in
August.

CITIES

No one region claims all or most of the
cities. Large cities are found in each part of the state—central, north and
south.

Montgomery

Besides being the capital, Montgomery is a
center of agricultural trade and the leading cattle market of southeastern
United States. The large ranches and herds of cattle in the area remind one of
Texas. Industries of the city include textile mills, meat-packing plants, and
furniture factories.

Montgomery has several institutions of
higher education, including Alabama State University, campuses of Troy State
and Auburn universities, and Huntingdon College, a private senior college. The
Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base is a national center for research and
for education and training of U.S. Air Force personnel.

Birmingham

Alabama's largest city is located at the
southern end of the Ridge and Valley Region. It is sometimes called the Magic
City because of its rapid growth. Since it was founded in 1871 as the town of
Ely ton, it has grown into a metropolitan area of about 850,000 people. It is
the South's only major producer of iron and steel. The hundreds of other
industries in the area manufacture such items as cast-iron pipe, heavy
machinery, chemicals, textiles, and wood and paper products.

Birmingham is a leading educational and cultural
center. It is also noted for mountain scenery and places of outdoor recreation.

Mobile

The second-largest city and only
seaport is known as Alabama's Gateway to the World. It was founded by the
French and was named for the Mobile Indians, who lived in the area. Today it is
a busy industrial center with chemical plants, shipyards, and seafood
industries. It is also a gracious and beautiful resort city, known for its
flowers and ancient oak trees draped with Spanish moss.

Other Cities

The following are some of the other
important cities:

Huntsville, now the Rocket City, was
one of Alabama's first settlements. It remained a small farming community for
more than 125 years. Its population was only 16,000 in 1950. About that time
the Army began to develop a rocket and guided-missile center at the Redstone
Arsenal at Huntsville. Thousands of scientists and other workers came to the
area. So did dozens of new industries. Within 20 years Huntsville's population increased to more than
135,000. In 1960 a part of the arsenal was transferred to the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. This part was named the George C.
Marshall Space Flight Center.

Tuscaloosa, the home of the
University of Alabama, is located on the Black Warrior River at the edge of the
Appalachian Plateau. Its name comes from the Indian words tuska, meaning
"black," and lusa, meaning "warrior." The city's
many industries include a large paper mill, a rubber-tire plant, textile mills,
oil refineries, and plants that make metal products.

Gailstleii, northeast of Birmingham,
is an important iron and steel center, as well as a distribution point for
livestock and grain produced in the surrounding area.

Duthan, leading city of
southeastern Alabama, is located in a rich farming area. The main crop is
peanuts. Industries in the city manufacture such products as peanut oil,
hosiery, and cigars.

GOVERNMENT

The legislative department
of the state government is made up of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. The members of both bodies serve 4-year terms. An amendment to
the state constitution, adopted in 1975, provided for annual legislative
sessions, beginning in 1976. Before that, regular sessions had been held every
other year.

The chief
executive is the governor, who is elected by the people. The people also elect
a lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer,
auditor, and commissioner of agriculture and industry, as well as the members
of the state board of education.

The highest
state court is the supreme court. It consists of a chief justice and eight
associate justices elected statewide for 6-year terms. The court of appeals is
divided into two courts, one to hear civil appeals and one to hear criminal
appeals. The major trial courts in Alabama are its numerous circuit courts.

GOVERNMENT

Capital—Montgomery.
Number of counties—67. Representation in Congress—U.S. senators, 2; U.S.
representatives, 7. State Legislature—Senate, 35 members; House of
Representatives, 105 members;

all
4-year terms. Governor—4-year term. Elections— Primary elections
to select candidates, first Tuesday in May; general and state elections,
Tuesday after first Monday in November

The state is divided into 67 counties. Each
county is governed by a board of commissioners, known as the county commission.

 FAMOUS PEOPLE

Alabama claims many
persons who did important work in government, education, the law, military
affairs, business, and the arts. The following are some of the honored names:

William Wyatt Bibb (1781-1820) was Alabama's
only territorial governor and the first governor of the state. He was born in
Georgia.

Josiah Gorgas (1818-83), born in
Pennsylvania, was a teacher and an army officer. He became an Alabamian after
his marriage to Amelia Gayle, daughter of John Gayle, governor of Alabama from
1831 to 1835. During the Civil War, Josiah Gorgas was chief of military
supplies, and eventually a brigadier general, in the Confederate Army. Later he
served for a year as president of the University of Alabama. His son, William
C. Gorgas (1854-1920), who was born near Mobile, is world famous as the U.S.
Army surgeon and sanitation expert who stamped out yellow fever in the Canal Zone
and made possible the building of the Panama Canal.

Julia Strudwick Tufwiler (1841-1916) was born in Greene County. She
established several girls' vocational schools and secured admission of women to
the University of Alabama. She was also active in prison reform. She wrote the
words of "Alabama," the state song.

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) is known throughout the world as the founder of
Tuskegec Institute and as an educator, author, and lecturer. He was born in
Virginia and was educated at Hampton Institute. His biography is included in
Volume W.

George Washington Carver (1864-1943), botanist and agricultural scientist,
gained international fame for his work in agricultural research at Tuskegee
Institute. He taught improvement of the soil and developed hundreds of products
from the peanut, sweet potato, and soybean. A biography of George Washington
Carver, who was born in Missouri and educated in Iowa, is included in Volume C.

William Brockman Bankhead (1874-1940) was born in Moscow (now Sulligent),
Alabama. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1917 to 1940. He
was speaker of the House from 1936 to 1940. His daughter, Tallulah Brockman
Bankhead, became one of America's best-known actresses. His father, John H.
Bank-head, and his brother, John H. Bankhead, Jr., were both U.S. senators.

Helen Adams Keller, who was born in Tus-cumbia in 1880, lost both sight and
hearing before she was 2 years old. Because she could not hear, she also lost
the ability to speak. In spite of her disabilities, she gained an education,
learned to speak, and then spent her life lecturing and writing to raise money
for the training of other disabled persons. Her biography is included in Volume
K.

George Corley Wallace (1919- ) was born in Clio, Alabama. He was a judge and state
legislator before his election in 1962 as governor of Alabama. He was
re-elected to that office in 1970, 1974, and 1982. He was also a presidential
candidate in 1964, 1968, 1972, and 1976. A bullet from an assassination attempt
during the 1972 campaign left him disabled.

Three Alabamians have
become justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices John McKinley and John A.
Campbell, who served during the I 800's, were born in other states. Hugo L.
Black, who became a justice in 1937, was born in Clay County, Alabama.

Writers, musicians, and
entertainers who were born in Alabama include novelists Nelle Harper Lee
(Monroeville) and Bordcn Deal(Tuscaloosa), composer William C. Handy (Florence), and
singer Nat "King" Cole (Montgomery).

Famous names in
sports include heavyweight champion Joe Louis (born Joe Louis Barrow,
Lafayette); baseball players Henry "Hank" Aaron (Mobile), Frank Lary
(North-port), and Willie Mays (Fairfield); and sports announcer Mel Alien (born
Melvin Alien Israel, Birmingham).

HISTORY

At the time of Columbus, Alabama was
inhabited by four main groups of Indians. They were the Cherokees, Creeks,
Choctaws, and Chickasaws. Sometimes there were skirmishes resulting from border
disputes. But usually the Indians lived in peace, hunting, fishing, and raising
corn and vegetables on small plots of land.

Exploration
and Settlement

During the early 1500's Spanish
explorers sailed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. But Europeans were not
seen in the interior of Alabama until 1540, when Hernando de Soto passed
through with a band of well-armed soldiers. De Soto forced the peaceful Indians
to provide him with food and servants, and his harsh methods stirred up
resentment. When he reached the land governed by the gigantic Choctaw
chieftain, Tuskaloosa, he ran into trouble. De Soto captured the chief and took
him to the tribe's strongly fortified village. Here the Indians rose up to free
their chief. For many hours the bloody battle raged. The Spanish soldiers
slaughtered Indian men, women, and children alike. When the battle was over,
the village was in ruins and its population was destroyed. De Soto's troops
also suffered heavy losses. Later, in 1559, Spanish colonists started a
settlement on Mobile Bay, but storms and other troubles caused the settlers to
leave.

English traders from the Carolinas and
Georgia traded with the Indians during the late 1600's, but the English made no
permanent settlements in Alabama at that time. In 1702 the French established
Fort Louis on Mobile Bay. This settlement was moved, in 1711, to the present
site of Mobile. It became the first permanent white settlement in what is now
Alabama.

During the
1700's the French and the British fought over the territory of which Alabama
was a part. After the French and Indian War, the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, gave
the territory to England. Spain, Georgia, and the Carolinas still argued over
who owned the land. It was not until 1813 that all of what is now Alabama
passed into undisputed possession of the United States and became part of the
Mississippi Territory.

After 1800 more
and more settlers came into Alabama from the states on the Atlantic Coast. The
invention of the cotton gin and the growth of the cotton textile industry in
Eng­land made cotton a valuable crop. The settlers grew cotton on most of the
land that they cleared. But settling the territory was not without its perils.
Much of the good farm­land was already being used by the Indians, whose ways of
living easily adapted to the settlers' ways. The Indians resisted the theft of
their lands. The Creeks, who held more than half the land in the

territory,were