Alabama |
|
| Entered the Union: Dec. 14, 1819 (22) | Capital: Montgomery |
| Origin of Name: from Choctaw meaning “thicket-clearers” or “vegetation-gatherers” | |
| State Nicknames: Yellowhammer State • Heart of Dixie • Cotton State | |
| State Motto: Audemus jura nostra defendere (We dare defend our rights) | |
| State Tree: Southern Longleaf Pine | State Flower: Camelia |
| State Wildflower: Oak-leaf Hydrangea | State Bird: Yellowhammer |
| State Game Bird: Wild Turkey | State Horse: Racking |
| State Freshwater Fish: Largemouth Bass | State Salt Water Fish: Tarpon |
| State Amphibian: Red Hills salamander | State Insect: Monarch Butterfly |
| State Reptile: Alabama Red-bellied Turtle | State Nut: Pecan |
| State Gemstone: Star Blue Quartz | State Rock: Marble |
| State Songs: Alabama • Sweet Home Alabama • Stars Fell on Alabama | |
| State Forests: 21 • State Parks: 21 | |
| Famous for: Gulf Coast beaches, Cotton, EWTN TV Network | |
| Famous Alabamians: Mother Angelica (foundress of EWTN), Hank Williams (country singer), Helen Keller (blind author), Willie Mays (baseball), Jesse Owens (Olympics), Jim Nabors (actor), Lionel Hampton (jazz), Joe Louis (boxer), Rosa Parks (civil rights), Condoleezza Rice (Secretary of State) | |
| Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. | |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Indians lived throughout Alabama. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spanish explorers arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519. In 1540, the territory was visited by explorer Hernando de Soto. The first permanent European settlement in Alabama was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The British gained control of the area in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris but had to cede almost all the Alabama region to the U.S. and Spain after the American Revolution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Confederacy was founded at Montgomery in Feb. 1861, and, for a time, the city was the Confederate capital. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| A company of young Confederate cavalry soldiers from Huntsville, under the command of Rev. D.C. Kelly, arrived at Hopkinsville, KY, where Gen. Forrest's troops were stationed. The officers and men of the Huntsville company wore new uniforms, whereas the soldiers who had long been on the battlefields were dressed in faded, worn uniforms. On the sleeves, collars and coattails of the new calvary troop were bits of brilliant yellow cloth. As the company rode past Company A, Will Arnett cried out in greeting "Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer, flicker, flicker!" The greeting brought a roar of laughter from the men and from that moment the Huntsville soldiers were spoken of as the "Yellowhammer Company." The term quickly spread throughout the Confederate Army and all Alabama troops were referred to as the "Yellowhammers." | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1540: On October 18, 1540, the largest Indian battle in North America occurred when the Spaniards under Hernando de Soto attacked Chief Tuscaloosa's village of Mabila (or Mauvila). Most of the 2,000 inhabitants were killed during the battle. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1861: The Confederate flag was designed and first blown in Alabama. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955: Rosa Park's refusal to change seats on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus begins the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the landmarks in the American civil rights movement. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1886: The world's first electric trolley system was introduced in Montgomery, Alabama. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Racking Horse is legendary for its beauty, stamina calm disposition and extremely comfortable ride. The "rack" of the Racking Horse is a bi-lateral four-beat gait -- often called a "single-foot" because only one foot strikes the ground at a time. The Racking Horse comes by this gait naturally. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birmingham has been recognized as the South's top city for income growth and among the top ten nationally over the last 20 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama's Ethnic Roots: African 19.9%, American 16.8%, English 7.8%, Irish 7.7%, German 5.7%. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion in Alabama: 92% Christian (80% Protestant, 12% Catholic) 7% No Religion | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise, Alabama is the world's only monument dedicated to an insect pest. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| The only state with the major natural resources to make iron and steel, Alabama is the largest supplier of cast-iron and steel pipe products. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Huntsville, Alabama is known as the Rocket Capital of the World and is home of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At a Glance
Alabama Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | Dec. 14, 1819 (22) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Montgomery |
| Nickname | Yellowhammer State • Heart of Dixie • Cotton State |
| State Bird | Yellowhammer |
| State Flower | Camelia |
| State Tree | Southern Longleaf Pine |
New for 2026
More Alabama Facts & Photos
Mobile held America's first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703, fifteen years before New Orleans was even founded. The city's Carnival season still rolls every year as the oldest in the United States.
Alabama's official state fossil is Basilosaurus cetoides, a whale up to 60 feet long that swam the warm sea covering southern Alabama some 35 million years ago. Lawmakers gave it the title in 1984.
Cheaha Mountain, whose name comes from a Creek word meaning "high place," is Alabama's highest point at 2,407 feet. Cheaha State Park around its summit opened in 1933 and is the state's oldest continuously operating state park.
The battleship USS Alabama earned nine battle stars in World War II and led the American fleet into Tokyo Bay in September 1945. She has been moored in Mobile Bay as the centerpiece of Battleship Memorial Park since 1965.
No state matches Alabama for freshwater life: its rivers hold more species of fish, mussels, snails, turtles, and crayfish than any other state, including more than 300 kinds of freshwater fish.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
"Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great Creator of heaven and earth, and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven in pity and compassion upon me Thy servant, who humbly prorate myself before Thee."
(Valley Forge)
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved."
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: 'It connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."
(July 4, 1821)
"Every obligation that (Saddam Hussein) signed onto after the Gulf War, so that he would not be a threat to peace and security, he has ignored and flaunted.
Last updated: July 2026