UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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ALABAMA

Heart of Dixie, Camellia State

Origin of state's name: Means "tribal town" in Creek Indian language

Crimson St. Andrew's cross on a white field, patterned after the Confederate Battle Flag, and adopted in 1895. The bars forming the cross must not be less than six inches broad and must extend diagonally across the flag from side to side.

In 1817 when William Wyatt Bibb was appointed Governor of the brand new Alabama territory, Bibb realized he needed an official seal for his commissions and other state papers. With permission of President Monroe and a law adopted by Congress, the territorial governor was authorized to select a design for a seal. Governor Bibb felt the best seal would be a map of the territory showing it's rivers. It also showed the territories (now states) surrounding it.
By 1819, when Alabama became a state, the territorial seal was designated by the first legislature as the state seal. The state seal remained unchanged for 50 years, until the Recontruction period when a Republican legislature abolished the seal and had a new seal made. It consisted of the shield of the United States seal and on the seal was an eagle. In the beak of the eagle was a scroll that had the words "Here We Rest". Around the new emblem were placed the words "Alabama Great Seal". This seal was used for 71 years to authenticate official documents and letterhead.
In 1939 a bill was introduced by the legislature to restore the original seal as the Great Seal of Alabama. When the bill came up it was approved unanimously by the Senate and the House. Governor Frank M. Dixon approved the new law and the Secretary of State had a new Great Seal created. Act no. 20.

Entered Union: December 14, 1819; 22nd state.
Capital: Montgomery
Motto: We dare defend our rights.
Flower: Camellia
Bird: Yellowhammer
Tree: Southern Pine
Song: Alabama

A LITTLE HISTORY
First Europeans were Spanish explorers in the early 1500s. The French made the first permanent settlement, on Mobile Bay, 1701-1702; later, English settled in the northern areas. France ceded the entire region to England at the end of the French and Indian War, 1763, but Spanish Florida claimed the mobile Bay area until U.S. troops took it in 1813. General Andrew Jackson broke the power of the Creek Indians in 1814, and they were removed to Oklahoma. The Confederate States were organized February 4, 1861, at Montgomery, the first capital.

ALABAMA FACTS AND TRIVIA
The reason Alabama is called the "Heart of Dixie" originally had nothing to do with Alabama! Before the Civil War (1861-1865), the Citizens Bank of Louisiana issued $10 notes that bore the French word "dix" meaning 10. This led to the South becoming known as Dixieland, and since Alabama served as the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, it became known as the "Heart of Dixie."

The Women's Army Corp Museum at Fort McClellan, in Anniston, is the only museum in the world dedicated to women in the military.

Dothan is the Peanut Capital of the World, and fifty percent of all the peanuts produced in the U.S. are grown within 100 miles of Dothan.

Alabama has about one million acres of recreational water.

The first ice making machine was invented in Mobile County.

The first running of an electric streetcar in the United States was in Montgomery.

The largest tire and tube plant in the world is Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company (60 acres under one roof) in Gadsden.

Mobile is the airplane engine manufacturing capital of the world.

The University of Alabama, established in 1831, is located in Tuscaloosa.

Indians in the "Creek Nation East of the Mississippi" still gather in south Alabama to hold their annual religious ceremonies.

In 1833, there was a meteor shower over Alabama, and Alabamians called this the "year that stars fell." A popular song was written in 1934 entitled "Stars Fell on Alabama."

Selma has the largest area of contiguous historical sites in the United States which are listed on the National Register.

The original Mardi Gras was started in Mobile 200 years before the first one was held in New Orleans.

Along a 20-mile stretch of waterfront on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay occurs a strange phenomenon called a Jubilee. For approximately two hours, conditions are such that the supply of oxygen is depleted, sending marine bottom life (crabs, shrimp, fish, etc.) to the surface of the body of water, and ultimately to the shore, seeking oxygen where this marine life can be gathered with ease.

The towns of Sylacauga and Talladega are on top of one of the largest known white marble deposits in the world. This deposit is about 35 miles long and 1-1/2 miles wide.

One-twelfth of all the ocean-flowing water in the U.S. travels through Alabama.

Magnolia Springs is one of the only places in the nation that still has postal service by boat.

The Appalachian Mountain Chain begins in Alabama, and the major portion of Lookout Mountain is in Alabama.

Alabama is the only place in the world where, within a 10-mile radius, you can find all three components for making steel: coal, iron ore, and limestone.

Two-thirds of Alabama is covered by forest lands.

The only Tudor Rose Cannon, belonging to Henry VIII's guard, to be captured during the War of 1812 is on display at Fort Morgan.

The Anniston Museum of Natural History is the only one of its kind in the Southeast.

The Birmingham Festival of Arts is the world's oldest continuing arts festival and is also the official State Arts Festival.

Visit Dirk Visser's Holland Bulbs Today

Selma is the butterfly capital of Alabama, officially designated by the State Legislature.

Andalusia is the home of the annual World Championship Domino Tournament.

The present site of the Alabama State Capitol got the name "Goat Hill" because goats grazed there many years ago.

The world's largest nuclear-fueled electric generating plant is Brown's Ferry, located in Limestone County.

Alabama has the oldest public solar research facility in the southeast United States at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The first statue ever erected to an insect pest, Boll Weevil Monument, is in Enterprise.

Gaineswood Antebellum Home is said to have the first running water in a house. It was supplied by an artesian well in 1861 and is located in Demopolis.

Near Bridgeport, in the northeast corner of Alabama, is Russell Cave National Monument. This natural shelter was occupied by Indians over 8,000 years ago.

Natural Bridge of Alabama is the longest natural rock arch east of the Rocky Mountains. Located in Winston County, it is 148 feet long, 33 feet wide, 8 feet thick, and 60 feet high. The sandstone bridge is topped with the fossil of a tree that has been traced back 4 billion years.

The only river in America that forms and flows on top of a mountain is the Little River in northeast Alabama.

Little River Canyon is the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi River.

For the fifth time since 1838, the U.S. Navy will have a warship bearing the name "Alabama."

National Veterans Day was begun in Birmingham in 1947.

The Tower of London has pine logs in it from Alabama. In the mid-1880's, the Queen of England wanted to buy a lot of 8-inch, square-cut logs to shore up the Old Tower. W.N. Nichols of Marengo and Clarke counties saw the advertisement and helped get them to England.

The Dismals, located 5 miles from Phil Campbell, is 80 acres of undisturbed wilderness with a natural arboretum of 27 different trees within a radius of 100 feet, seven natural bridges, a winding staircase encased by natural rock, and what are said to be the tallest Canadian Hemlocks in the U.S.

Birmingham's Vulcan Statue is the largest iron figure ever cast. It is one of the few monuments in the world erected to symbolize an industry.

Montgomery is the home of the Civil Rights Movement. The historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in downtown Montgomery is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., served as minister.

Carrollton Courthouse is a two-story brick building in Aliceville, where the famous "face in the window" is still visible. The image is that of a prisoner in the 1800's which was purportedly etched into the glass during a lightning storm as he looked at the angry mob advancing for him.

The Chunnenugee Horticultural Society, organized March 6, 1837, is acknowledged as the first garden club in America with continuing status. The society is still active and is known as the Chunnenugee Public Garden Club.

The first fig trees in America were planted by Isabella DeSoto at Fort Morgan. The trees came from Spain.

The first Oleanders in America were also brought by Isabella DeSoto, from the north coast of Africa and planted in the courtyard at Fort Morgan.

Tuscaloosa's Gulf States Paper headquarters houses one of the most extensive collections of fine American art anywhere. More than 150 works are displayed, ranging from primitive to classical to modern.

The Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is the first National Park Service established on a college campus with education as the major theme. Tuskegee is best known for Tuskegee University, founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington.

The Battleship USS Alabama, which now rests in Mobile, was in every major battle of World War II, and neither she nor her crew members were ever injured.

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