Montgomery, Alabama
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
City of Montgomery | |
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Nickname(s): "The Capital City", "The Gump", "Gumptown", "Moneytown" | |
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Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County | Montgomery |
Incorporated | December 3, 1819 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Bobby Bright |
Area | |
• City | 404.53 km2 (156.19 sq mi) |
• Land | 402.43 km2 (155.38 sq mi) |
• Water | 2.09 km2 (0.81 sq mi) |
Elevation | 73 m (240 ft) |
Population (2006)[1] | |
• City | 201,998 |
• Density | 499.34/km2 (1,281.31/sq mi) |
• Metro | 469,268 |
Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Area code | 334 |
FIPS code | 01-51000 |
GNIS feature ID | 0165344 |
Website | http://www.montgomeryal.gov |
Montgomery (/məntˈgəmɜriː/) is the capital, the second most populous city[2], and the 4th most populous metropolitan area[3] in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County.[4] It is located southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. The city population was 201,568 as of the 2000 census.[5] Montgomery is the primary city of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2000 population of 346,528.[6]
The city was incorporated in 1819, as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. It became the state capital in 1846. In February 1861, Montgomery was selected as the first capital of the Confederate States of America, until the seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia in May of that year[7]. During the mid-20th century, Mongtomery was a primary site in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches[7].
Today, in addition to housing many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence due to Maxwell Air Force Base[8], public universities Alabama State University and Auburn University-Montgomery, high-tech manufacturing including Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama[9], and cultural attractions like the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.[10] Montgomery is also home to American Bar Association accreditated law school, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law of Faulkner University.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/View_of_the_Capitol%2C_Montgomery%2C_Alabama.jpg/220px-View_of_the_Capitol%2C_Montgomery%2C_Alabama.jpg)
The Montgomery area was originally heavily populated by the Alibamu tribe of Native Americans (after which the state is named). By 1800 the Native Americans had been mostly driven out, and white settlers began to permanently occupy 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 town was a success, and their proximity to each other quickly caused them to merge. 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 City, 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 struck 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.
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 the state's creation 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. The state capital then was moved to Tuscaloosa. In 1846, the capital was permanently located at Montgomery, the legislature likely finding it an ideal location from which to run the state, due 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.[11]. From then, Montgomery continued to increase in prosperity and prominence. When Alabama seceded during the Civil War, Montgomery served as the first capital of the Confederate States of America; Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president on the steps of the Capitol.
During the Civil War, Montgomery was left virtually physically undamaged, thanks in part to the Confederate capital having been moved to Richmond, Virginia, early in the war in an effort to keep the war in the north. Alabama's infrastructure, however, was 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 Air Force Base 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. World War II revitalized the city after the Depression, but the city continued to weather some economic hardships. During this time, however, there were some noticeable highlights; Montgomery became the first city in the world to install electric street cars.
Civil rights movement in Montgomery
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/DexterAvenueBaptistChurch.jpg/200px-DexterAvenueBaptistChurch.jpg)
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.[citation needed] 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 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, 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. As a result of the national exposure of the tragedy, a nationwide effort to revamp fire code standards was launched.[citation needed]
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 & Company. 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.[citation needed]
Geography and Climate
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Alabama_River.jpg/200px-Alabama_River.jpg)
Geography
Montgomery is located at 32°21′42″N 86°16′45″W / 32.36167°N 86.27917°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (32.361538, -86.279118)Template:GR. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 156.2 square miles (404.5 km²), of which, 155.4 square miles (402.4 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.
Climate
Montgomery's climate is humid subtropical (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The area 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.
Climate data for Montgomery, Alabama | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Source: US Travel Weather [12] |
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1840 | 2,179 | — | |
1850 | 8,728 | 300.6% | |
1860 | 8,843 | 1.3% | |
1870 | 10,588 | 19.7% | |
1880 | 16,713 | 57.8% | |
1890 | 21,883 | 30.9% | |
1900 | 30,346 | 38.7% | |
1910 | 38,136 | 25.7% | |
1920 | 43,464 | 14.0% | |
1930 | 66,079 | 52.0% | |
1940 | 78,084 | 18.2% | |
1950 | 106,525 | 36.4% | |
1960 | 134,393 | 26.2% | |
1970 | 133,386 | −0.7% | |
1980 | 177,857 | 33.3% | |
1990 | 187,106 | 5.2% | |
2000 | 201,568 | 7.7% | |
2007 (est.) | 204,086 |
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 201,568 people, 100,784 households, and 100,784 families residing in the city. The 2006 Census Bureau estimate places the population at 201,998.[1]
The population density was 1,297.3 people per square mile (500.9/km²). There were 86,787 housing units at an average density of 558.5/sq mi (215.7/km²). 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.
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.
Law and government
Montgomery operates under a Mayor-council government system. The current mayor is Bobby Bright. Bright was elected mayor in the 1999 municipal elections, having unseated longtime Republican 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 and third Tuesday of the month at 5:00 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall downtown.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
The city of Montgomery and Montgomery County is served by the Montgomery Public Schools system. As of 2007, there were 32,520 students enrolled in the system, and 2,382 teachers employed. The system manages 32 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 4 high schools (G.W. Carver, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, and Robert E. Lee) as well as 9 magnet schools and 1 alternative school, and 2 special education centers.[13] Montgomery is also home to 28 private schools.[14]
Higher education
Montgomery has been the home of Alabama State University, a historically black university, since the Lincoln Normal University for Teachers relocated from Marion in 1887. Today, ASU enrolls over 5,600 students from 42 U.S. states and 7 countries.[15] Auburn Montgomery in the eastern part of the city operates as a satellite campus of Auburn University, and has an enrollment of 5,123.[16] Montgomery also is home to several private colleges: Faulkner University is a Church of Christ-affiliated school[17] and Huntingdon College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.[18]
Military education
Maxwell Air Force Base is the headquarters for Air University, the United States Air Force's center for professional military education. Branches of Air University based in Montgomery include the Squadron Officer School, the Air Command and Staff College, the Air War College, and the Community College of the Air Force.[19]
Media
Newspapers
The morning publication, the Montgomery Advertiser, began publication under that name in 1833. It is the principal newspaper of central Alabama and is affiliated with the Gannett Corporation. In 1970, then publisher Harold E. Martin won the Pulitzer Prize for special reporting while at the Advertiser.
The Alabama Journal was a local afternoon paper until April 16, 1993 when it published its last issue before merging with the morning Advertiser.
Television
Montgomery is served by seven local stations: WNCF 32 (ABC), WSFA 12 (NBC), WCOV 20 (Fox), WBMM 22 (CW), WAIQ 26 (PBS), WMCF 45 (TBN), WFRZ 34 (Religious and Educational). In addition, WAKA 8 (CBS) and WBIH 29 (independent) are located in Selma, and WRJM 67 (MyNetworkTV) is licensed to Troy. Montgomery is part of the Montgomery-Selma Designated Market Area, which is ranked 118th nationally by Nielsen Media Research.[20]
Radio
The Montgomery area is served by nine AM stations: WMSP, WMGY, WNZZ, WTBF, WACV, WAPZ, WIQR, WLWI, and WXVI; and FM stations: WJSP, WAPR, WELL, WLBF, 89.9, WVAS, WLWI, WXFX, WQKS, WWMG, WVRV, WJWZ, WBAM, WALX, WHHY, WMXS, WHLW, WZHT, and WJAM. Montgomery is ranked #153 by Arbitron.[21]
Transportation
Two interstate highways run through Montgomery. Interstate 65 is the primary north–south freeway through the city leading between Birmingham and Huntsville to the north and Mobile to the south. Montgomery is the southern terminus of Interstate 85, another north–south freeway (though running east–west in the city), which leads northeast to Atlanta. The major surface street thoroughfare is a loop consisting of State Route 152 in the north, U.S. Highway 231 and U.S. Highway 80 in the east, U.S. Highway 82 in the south, and U.S. Highway 31 along the west of the city. The Alabama Department of Transportation is planning the Outer Montgomery Loop to ease traffic congestion in the city. It is planned to connect Interstate 85 near Mt. Meigs to U.S. Highway 80 southwest of the city.[22] Montgomery Area Transit System (MATS) provides public transportation with buses serving the city. The system has 32 buses providing an average of 4500 passenger trips daily.[23] MATS ridership has shown steady growth since the system was revamped in 2000; the system served over 1 million passenger trips in 2007.[24] Greyhound Lines operates a terminal in Montgomery for intra-city bus travel.[25]
Montgomery Regional Airport, also known as Dannelly Field, is the major airport serving Montgomery. It serves promarily as an Air National Guard base and for general aviation, but commercial airlines fly to regional connections to Atlanta, Charlotte, and Memphis.[26]
Passenger rail service began to Montgomery in 1898, with the opening of Union Station. Service continued until 1979, when Amtrak terminated its Floridian route.[27] Amtrak returned from 1989 until 1995 with the Gulf Breeze, an extension of the Crescent line.[28]
Sports
Montgomery is home of the Montgomery Biscuits baseball team. The Biscuits play in the Class AA Southern League. They are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Rays, and play at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium[29]. Riverwalk Stadium is also the annual host of the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship. The championship has been held in Montgomery since 1985, and was previously held at Paterson Field.
The Navistar LPGA Classic women's golf event is held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill in nearby Prattville.[30] Garrett Coliseum was the home of the now-defunct Montgomery Bears indoor football team.
Montgomery is also the site of sporting events hosted by the area's colleges and universities. The Alabama State University Hornets play in NCAA Division I competition in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The football team plays at the Cramton Bowl and the basketball team play at the Joe L. Reed Acadome. Auburn University Montgomery also fields teams in NAIA competition.
Notable points
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Alabama_state_capitol%2C_Montgomery.jpg/250px-Alabama_state_capitol%2C_Montgomery.jpg)
- Alabama Shakespeare Festival
- Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
- The Alabama Department of Archives and History
- First White House of the Confederacy
- Montgomery Zoo
- Dexter Avenue United Methodist Church
- Blount Cultural Park
- Flea Market Montgomery
- Edgewood, Montgomery's oldest private residence
- Seven Bridges Road from the popular country-rock song of the same name.
Events
- Jubilee City Fest
- Alabama Highland Games
- Flimp Festival
- Saturdays In April Historic House & Garden tours
- Montgomery Symphony
- Alabama National Fair
- Montgomery Ballet
- Glenn Miller Annual Concert
- Zoo Boo
- Montgomery Holiday Lights Festival at the Zoo
- Turkey Day Classic
- Southeastern Livestock Rodeo
Notable natives and residents
- Marlon Anderson, Major League Baseball player
- Reggie Barlow, National Football League player, Super Bowl XXXVII champion
- Inez Baskin, journalist and civil rights advocate
- Caesar Belser, National Football League player, Super Bowl IV champion
- Tom Boswell, National Basketball Association player
- Brett Butler, actress/comedian
- Johnnie Carr, civil rights advocate
- Nat King Cole, jazz pianist & singer
- Johnny Davis, National Football League player, Super Bowl XVI champion
- Zelda Fitzgerald, novelist and wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Benjamin Fitzpatrick, 11th Governor of Alabama
- Eddie Floyd, singer-songwriter
- Jim Folsom, Jr., 50th Governor of Alabama
- Melvin Franklin, singer in The Temptations
- Glenn Howerton, actor
- Tarvaris Jackson, National Football League quarterback
- Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights advocate
- Claude R. Kirk, Jr., Governor of Florida
- Harold E. Martin, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Frank McIntyre, chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, 1912-1929
- Charles Moore, photographer
- Edgar Nixon, civil rights advocate
- Tommy Shaw, guitarist of Styx
- Bart Starr, Pro Football Hall of Famer
- Big Mama Thornton, blues singer
- Kathryn C. Thornton, astronaut
- Hank Williams, Sr., country singer
- Michael Young, Emmy winning actor
- Clarence Carter, Blues singer
- Dionne Walters, America's Next Top Model contestant
- Brent Hamilton Harris, olympic diver
Metropolitan Area
The Montgomery Metro area includes the following nearby towns:
Neighborhoods
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References
- ^ a b "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Alabama, Listed Alphabetically: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2007 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 28 2007. Retrieved June 28.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
and|date=
(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Alabama
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_areas_of_Alabama
- ^ ""Alabama - City Population - Cities, Towns, & Provinces - Statistics & Map"". "www.citypopulation.de". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ ""Montgomery city, Alabama - Fact Sheet"". "American Fact Finder". Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t29/tab01a.csv
- ^ a b Montgomery: History - Early Days in Montgomery, Lafayette's Visit a Local Highlight
- ^ Montgomery: Economy - Major Industries and Commercial Activity
- ^ Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama; LLC
- ^ Montgomery: Recreation - Sightseeing, Arts and Culture, Festivals and Holidays, Sports for the Spectator
- ^ ADAH: Montgomery Historical Markers
- ^ "Montgomery Weather". US Travel Weather.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=
ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=
ignored (|access-date=
suggested) (help) - ^ ""Montgomery Public Schools"". Retrieved 2008-05-18.
- ^ ""Schools K-12 - Montgomery, AL Private Schools"". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""About ASU"". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""Auburn Montgomery-AUM:"". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""Faulkner University - Discover Faulnker". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""About HC"". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""USAF Air University"". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ ""Local Television Market Universe Estimates"". "www.nielsenmedia.com". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ ""Arbitron Radio Market Rankings: Fall 2007 "" (PDF). "www.arbitron.com". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
- ^ ""Senator Richard C. Shelby"". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ ""Montgomery Area Transit System"". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ ""Chart FY 08.pdf"" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ ""Greyhound.com : Locations : Montgomery, Alabama". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ ""Canceled flights: Continental drops Montgomery routes"". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ "Floridian". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ "Gulf Breeze". Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ ""Montgomery Biscuits"". Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ^ ""LPGA.com"". Retrieved 2008-04-05.
Further reading
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the - 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 ( )
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- City of Montgomery, Alabama
- TheRiverRegionOnline Website
- Institute of Southern Jewish Life, History of Montgomery
- Template:Wikitravelpar
- Template:Geolinks-US-cityscale