As always our first stop is at the local Visitor Center. This one is in the big beautiful old Union Station building. Here we get the scoop on what to see and where to go to see it. After watching a brief video of the history of Montgomery we walked up several blocks to see the state capitol building. Loads of history here.

Montgomery Visitor Center

Just a few blocks up from the Visitor Center is the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastor here from 1954-1960. The Montgomery bus boycott organized here in December 2, 1955.

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

The Court Square Fountain, established in 1885, sits in the middle of a historic district. Near here is where, in 1861, the telegram giving the order to fire on Fort Sumter was given which began the War Between the States.

Court Square Fountain (and Capitol Building in Background)

Up the street a few more blocks is the Alabama State Capitol Building. “The Selma to Montgomery voting rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr. ended at the foot of the capitol steps on March 25, 1965. Here Dr. King addressed 25,000 people.”

Montgomery State Capitol Building

Near the capitol building is the First White House of the Confederacy. President Jefferson Davis and his family lived here until the Confederate capital moved to Richmond in the summer of 1861.

First White House of The Confederacy

Country Music Superstar Hank Williams grew up here and is buried in a cemetery about one mile from here. He died in 1951 at the age of only 29. There is a Hank Williams Museum a few blocks from the capitol. Your Cheatin’ Heart,  Dear John,  Honky Tonkin,  Move it on Over,  Lovesick Blues,  Lonesome Whistle,  and Hey, Good Lookin are a few of my favorites. He had many many more.

Hank Williams Museum

At the end of a street by the Visitor Center we walked down a ramp and through a tunnel to the Riverfront Walk.

Tunnel to the Riverfront

Down there we saw the remains of a cotton slide that was used to transport heavy cotton bales from the streets above to the waiting steamboats below.

Remains of a Cotton Slide

Also docked there is the Hariott II Riverboat. It would have been a good day for a cruise but it was not running today, so we missed out on that.

The Hariott II

There is so much more history here and more to see than what we did today. We’ll have to come back.