One of the things we love most about Alabama is that it is full of surprises. No matter how well you think you know this state, there is always a new place or interesting fact waiting to be discovered. Here are just a few of our wonderful state’s secrets:
1. The first Mardi Gras celebration was held in Mobile in 1703.
2. The rocket that took the first Americans to the moon (Saturn V), was designed at the Marshall Space Center in Huntsville.
U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama.
3. Colbert County is home to the Coon Dog Cemetery – the only cemetery of its kind in the world.
4. The first electric streetcar system in the world was Montgomery's Lightning Route, established in 1886.
5. The Tuskegee Airmen, the country's first African-American military airmen, were trained in Alabama.
6. Alabama has had a total of five capitals at different times in its history. These capital cities are the following: St. Stephens (1817), Huntsville (1819), Cahawba (1820), Tuscaloosa (1826) and Montgomery (1846). Pictured are the ruins of Tuscaloosa's old capitol building, which burned down in 1923.
7. On November 30, 1954, Ann Hodges of Oak Grove became the only confirmed case of a person being struck by a meteorite.
8. Alabama's state drink is Conecuh Ridge Whiskey, making it the only state with an alcoholic beverage as its official drink.
9. Clark County's Mt. Nebo Baptist Church Cemetery includes several unique tombstones. They feature death masks cast from the person buried below them.
10. The town of Magnolia Springs is the only one in the country with an all-water mail route.
Do you know any other little-known facts or unique places in Alabama? We would love to hear about them!
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest updates and news
Thank you for subscribing!
