Page Contents for Montgomery, Alabama

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Historical Events

Chamber of Commerce.

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Alabama state capital is Montgomery.
The population of Montgomery is approximately 198,309 (1998), 205764 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 76,636 (1990), 81486 (2010).
The amount of land area in Montgomery is 349.591 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 1.949 sq kilometers.
The distance from Montgomery to Washington DC is 704 miles.
The distance to the Alabama state capital is miles. (as the crow flies)
Montgomery is positioned 32.35 degrees north of the equator and 86.28 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Montgomery average annual snowfall is 0.3 inches per year.
Montgomery average temperature is 65.6 degrees F.

Location

at the crossroads of Interstate 65 and Interstate 85, near the middle of the state. It is 88 miles to Birmingham and 163 miles to Atlanta, Georgia.
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Weather

mild. Cool and comfortable is the year-round byword for weather in Montgomery. Sweaters and jackets may be needed in the winter.
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History & History Related Items

Hernando de Soto claimed this area for Spain in 1540. French settlers came in 1717 when they established Fort Toulouse. Within a short time, many new residents came and settlements of East Alabama and New Philadelphia grew up, merging in 1819 to form the city of Montgomery.
Montgomery was chosen in 1846 to be the state capital. In 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as the president of the Confederacy in Montgomery.
This is also the place where Rosa Parks helped to usher in a time of great social change. 1965 was the time when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. finished his Selma to Montgomery march on the state capital steps. The area has many firsts to its name, including the first electric streetcar system in 1886. The nation's first flight school for powered planes was established in 1910 by the Wright Brothers.

The city of Montgomery was named for the revolutionary war hero, General Richard Montgomery. He was killed during the assault on Quebec. The County of Montgomery was named for Major Lemuel Purnell Montgomery, who was killed at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
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Attractions

"NOTED NOTABLES"
Nat "King" Cole was born here in Montgomery. Also born in Montgomery are Singers Clarence Carter and Toni Tenille, Opera Singer, Nell Rankin and Blues singer, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton.

Jasmine Hill Gardens and Outdoor Museum
off US Hwy 231, north of Montgomery on Jasmine Hill Road
Phone: 334-567-6463
Fax: 334-567-6466
Alabama's Little Corner of Greece
20 acres of beautiful grounds and more.

The FUN PHONE for visitor information and schedules of events in Montgomery. Please call: 334-240-9447

Montgomery Zoo
off North Blvd. between Coliseum Blvd and Lower Wetumpka Rd.
Phone: 334-240-4900
You can see all types of animals and wildlife in natural settings in this 40 acre zoo.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Phone: (800) 841-4ASF (841-4273)
Phone: (334) 271-5353

Montgomery Symphony Orchestra
Phone: 334-262-5182
For ticket info: 334-240-4004

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
One Museum Drive
Montgomery, AL
hone: 334-244-5700
One of the oldest fine arts museums in Alabama with a large collection of 19th and 20th century art.
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Montgomery City Government

The City of Montgomery

Montgomery Historical Events

1965
The Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March ended at the steps to the state capitol. This march was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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1955
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus, beginning a year-long bus boycott in Montgomery and sparking the American Civil Rights Movement.

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1910
First school for powered flight formed by the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, at what is now Maxwell Air Force Base.

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1887
The city's street railway is converted to electricity - the first electric system in the Western Hemisphere.

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1865
April 11 - the volunteer black fire brigade saves Mntgomery from burning after thousands bales of cotton are set afire to prevent the Union from taking them.

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1861
Alabama secedes from the Union and Montgomery serves as the official capital of the Confederate States of America.

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1846
Montgomery is named the capital of Alabama.

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1819
December 3 - Montgomery is incorporated.

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1540
Hernando de Soto claims the land for Spain on the bank of the Alabama River near where Montgomery stands today.

Montgomery Chamber

Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 79
401 Madison Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0079
Phone: 334-240-9455

Montgomery Organizations

Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 79
401 Madison Avenue
Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0079
Phone: 334-240-9455 Montgomery

Miscellany

Montgomery is in the Central Time Zone

The population of Montgomery was:
1990 - 187,106
1998 - 198,309