Around Mobile, as well as in other areas, there are plants that extract aluminum from bauxite. These plants provide metal for factories in the Tennessee Valley that make aluminum products. A large copper-tubing plant at Decatur, on the Tennessee River, is a new development for Alabama.
The textile industry produces yarn and thread, woven fabrics, clothing, and other goods. Textile mills are spread throughout the state.
MANUFACTURED GOODS: Primary metals, paper and related products, chemicals and related products, fabricated metal products, textiles, rubber and plastic products, clothing, processed foods.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: Broilers, cattle and calves, soybeans, eggs, peanuts, cotton, milk.
MINERALS: Coal, petroleum, natural gas. Iron ore, cement, stone, sand and gravel, lime.
Many of the chemical industries make use of coal tar, a tar that is left from the process of making coke. Some of the by-products of coal tar are medicines, explosives, dyes, and plastics. The salt deposits near Mobile provide raw material for the making of chlorine products, such as bleaches, disinfectants, and water purifiers. At Muscle Shoals in northwestern Alabama there is a federal plant where fertilizers and munitions are developed for the benefit of agriculture and industry.
Alabama ranks among the first five timber producers in the nation. The forests supply lumber for furniture and other wood products as well as wood pulp for the paper industries. The first pulp and paper plant in the state was built at Tuscaloosa in 1929. Other cities that now have large pulp mills are Mobile and Brewton, in southern Alabama, and De-mopolis, in the western part of the state. Most of the pulp is made into finished products such as newsprint, stationery, corrugated boxes, and kraft paper. Kraft paper is the strong brown paper used in grocery bags.
Agriculture. In Enterprise, Alabama, there is a monument to the boll weevil. It is perhaps the only monument in the world to an insect pest. The monument was erected in 1919 after the boll weevil destroyed the cotton crops. It reminds Alabama's farmers of the part that the boll weevil played in teaching them not to depend on cotton alone for their living.
For a long time cotton ranked first among Alabama's crops, but today cotton brings only a fraction of the total income from crops. Alabama also produces substantial amounts of soybeans, peanuts, corn, hay, sweet potatoes and other garden vegetables, and fruits and pecans. Some crops are identified with particular areas. Soybeans are grown extensively in the Black Belt and around Mobile Bay. Peanuts are a main crop in the Wire Grass area. Strawberries are grown commercially around Cullman in Cullman County, Clanton in Chilton County, and Georgiana in Butler County. Clanton is also known for peaches. Truck farming is carried on in many areas.
An interesting fact about Alabama's agriculture is that since 1958 livestock sales have brought more income than crops. Cattle are raised chiefly in the Black Belt and hogs in the Wire Grass area. Poultry raising is concentrated north of Birmingham. Dairying is carried on throughout the state.
Mining. Alabama is well-known for its production of coal, cement, and limestone. A number of other' minerals are produced in varying quantities including petroleum, iron ore, clays and shale, mica, sand and gravel, bauxite, gold, silver, and manganese. Marble from Alabama's quarries is sold throughout the United States.
The first producing oil well began operating near Gilbertown, in Choctaw County, in 1944. Later, oil was found in Escambia County and near Citronelle, in Mobile County. There arc more than 200 producing wells in southwestern Alabama. In the northwest a large natural gas field is being developed.
Transportation and Communication
Waterways, railroads, highways, and airways connect Alabama to other parts of tlic nation. The port of Mobile connects the state to the seaports of the world.
Waterways. Alabama has the finest river system in the nation. The U.S. Corps of Engineers classifies large portions of its rivers as suitable for navigation. Millions of dollars have been spent to develop the harbor and build docks at Mobile, to widen and deepen the channels of the rivers, and to build public docks along the waterways.
The Black Warrior and Tombigbee waterway extends all the way from the port of Mobile to Jefferson and Walker counties. This waterway carries great quantities of limestone as well as millions of tons of cargo for the industries of Birmingham and other cities along the rivers. The Alabama River provides water transportation between Mobile and the capital city, Montgomery. The Tennessee River is the main water route of northern Alabama. The Chattahoochee waterway, on the east border of the state, serves the cities of Columbia, Eufaula, and Phenix City.
Railroads and Highways. Alabama was among the pioneers in railroad building. Its first railway, between Decatur and Muscle Shoals, was completed in 1832. Today Alabama's railroads are used largely for freight. Hubs of state, federal, and interstate highway systems are Birmingham and Montgomery.
Airlines. Several airlines provide commercial flights to cities in different parts of the state. Frequent daily schedules are available from major centers. Most of the interstate traffic uses the airports at Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile. Alabama's system of local airfields, with paved and lighted runways for smaller planes, is considered to be among the best in the nation.
Newspapers, Radio, and Television. Almost every city has its own local newspaper. More than 100 newspapers are published in the state, but only about 20 are dailies. Among the more influential daily newspapers are the Alabama Journal and the Montgomery Advertiser, both published at Montgomery, and the Birmingham News. The Mobile Press-Register, originally the Gazette, is one of the oldest newspapers in the state. It was founded in 1815.
Birmingham had the state's first licensed radio station, WBRC, in 1925, and the first television stations, WABT and WBRC-TV, both in 1949. In 1955 Alabama began operating one of the first state-owned educational television networks (ETV) in the nation. Stations of this network are capable of reaching almost all the people in the state.
Alabama is proud of its natural resources and its industrial development in recent years. State and community leaders also recognize the importance of developing its educational and cultural institutions.
Schools and Colleges
The first teachers in Alabama were probably French and Spanish priests who gave instruction to the Indians. In 1799 a New England cotton merchant, John Pierce, opened a school for the children of wealthy settlers in the Mobile Bay area. It was the kind of pioneer school known as a blab .school because the pupils studied by repeating their lessons aloud.
When Alabama became a state in 1819, an attempt was made to establish a system of public schools. The attempt failed, as did others in later years, largely because of a lack of money. Private schools sprang up to educate the children of parents who could afford to pay. It was not until after the Civil War that the state was able to make progress toward establishing its present system of public elementary schools, high schools, and colleges.
Alabama has more than 50 institutions of higher education. About half of these are 2-year institutions, mainly state-supported junior or community colleges. The others are universities and senior colleges.
The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (post office address, University) is Alabama's oldest college. It was established by the legislature in 1820. Other state-supported universities are located at Auburn, Birmingham, Florence, Huntsville, Jacksonville, Livingston, Mobile, Montcvallo, Montgomery, Normal, and Troy. Tuskegcc Institute, the famous school established by Booker T. Washington in 1881, is partly supported by the state.
Libraries
Throughout the state there are many pub lic and private libraries. The largest public libraries are in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, on the campus of the University of Alabama, is one of the largest libraries in the entire South.
Fine Arts and Museums
Most high schools and junior high schools in the state have bands or orchestras. The Birmingham Civic Symphony gives annual concerts in the city. It also tours the state.
Before the Civil War, architecture was one of the most important fine arts. Some of the beautiful homes that were built before the war may be seen in the older cities, such as Selma, Huntsville, Eufaula, Greensboro, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.
The Art Museum at Birmingham and the Museum of Fine Arts at Montgomery have large collections of paintings. The following arc among the other noted museums:
The Alabama Museum of Natural History, at
the University of Alabama, has an excellent display of rocks and minerals.
Mound State Monument, a state park and museum at Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, preserves ancient mounds that Indians built for their temples, council" houses, and burial places. Relics from the grounds in the park, such as skeletons, tools, ornaments, and pottery, are displayed in the museum.
The Regar Museum of Natural History, at Anniston, contains an unusual display of 900 specimens of birds, with nests and eggs.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Some of the many other interesting places have been made by people. Some, such as mountains, forests, and white sand beaches, arc nature's own work.
Historic Places
Many historic treasures are preserved in Alabama's museums. The following are a few of the historic places in various parts of the state:
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, on
the Tallapoosa River, marks the site of General Andrew Jackson's victory over the Creek Indians.
The Natchez Trace Parkway crosses the northwestern corner of Alabama. It extends from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. The parkway commemorates a famous Indian trail and pioneer highway.
Russell Cave National Monument, at Bridgeport in northeast Alabama, was established in 1961. In the cave, scientists have found records of almost continuous human habitation from at least 6000 b.c. to about a.d. 1650.
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site includes Tuskegee Institute, the George Washington Carver Museum, and Booker T. Washington's home. The museum includes displays of African art and George Washington Carver's agricultural experiments.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,
at Mobile, stands on land that the first settlers used as a burying ground.
The State Capitol, Montgomery, is a stately building, similar in appearance to the National Capitol. For the first few months of the Civil War, it served as the capitol of the Confederacy.
Jefferson Davis' Home, in Montgomery, is known as the first White House of the Confederacy because it was here that President Davis lived when Montgomery was the Confederate capital.
Parks and Forests
Alabama has four national forests. The Talladega National Forest has two sections, one in the central part of the state and the other in the east. The William B. Bankhead National Forest, formerly the Black Warrior National Forest, is in the northwest. The Tuskegee, smallest of the national forests, is in the east, and the Conecuh is in the south.
State parks and forests total about 30. They are planned to conserve the natural beauty of the state and to provide places where people may go for outdoor recreation—picnicking, camping, hiking and nature study, fishing and other water sports.
Other Attractions
The following are among other places that attract visitors from all over the nation and the world:
Ave Maria Grotto, at St. Bernard, near Cull-man, displays more than 100 small reproductions of famous religious buildings of the world.
The Azalea Trail, in Mobile, is a 55-kilometer (35-mile) trail of flowers that leads through residential parts of the city, past historic homes and buildings.
Bellingrath Gardens and Home, south of Mobile, is a beautifully "landscaped estate. Here the finest flowers, shrubs, and trees have been brought together in a setting of great natural beauty. The home is noted for its rich furnishings and priceless art objects.
Cathedral Caverns, north ofGuntersville, contains a large forest of stalagmites and one cavern 27 meters (90 feet) deep.
Ivy Green, in Tuscumbia, is Helen Keller's birthplace and childhood home.
Vulcan Statue, at the summit of Red Mountain, Birmingham, is a statue of the god of fire. It was made of iron from the local area and is said to be one of the largest statues in the world.
Annual Events
Many of Alabama's annual events center upon sports, the products of the state, and the interests and traditions of the people. From the early French settlers. Mobile inherited the celebration of Mardi Gras. Mobile's Mardi Gras festival is the oldest such celebration in the United States. It begins on the Friday before the first day of Lent and reaches its high point on the night of Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.
Mobile celebrates the azalea season from late February to early April, when thousands of visitors tour the Azalea Trail. The Deep-Sea Fishing Rodeo, at Mobile and Dauphin Island, climaxes the fishing season, usually late in July or early in August.
Other events include the state fair at Birmingham, in September, and the River Boat Regatta at Guntersville, in August.
CITIES
No one region claims all or most of the cities. Large cities are found in each part of the state—central, north and south.
Montgomery
Besides being the capital, Montgomery is a center of agricultural trade and the leading cattle market of southeastern United States. The large ranches and herds of cattle in the area remind one of Texas. Industries of the city include textile mills, meat-packing plants, and furniture factories.
Montgomery has several institutions of higher education, including Alabama State University, campuses of Troy State and Auburn universities, and Huntingdon College, a private senior college. The Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base is a national center for research and for education and training of U.S. Air Force personnel.
Birmingham
Alabama's largest city is located at the southern end of the Ridge and Valley Region. It is sometimes called the Magic City because of its rapid growth. Since it was founded in 1871 as the town of Ely ton, it has grown into a metropolitan area of about 850,000 people. It is the South's only major producer of iron and steel. The hundreds of other industries in the area manufacture such items as cast-iron pipe, heavy machinery, chemicals, textiles, and wood and paper products.
Birmingham is a leading educational and cultural center. It is also noted for mountain scenery and places of outdoor recreation.
Mobile
The second-largest city and only seaport is known as Alabama's Gateway to the World. It was founded by the French and was named for the Mobile Indians, who lived in the area. Today it is a busy industrial center with chemical plants, shipyards, and seafood industries. It is also a gracious and beautiful resort city, known for its flowers and ancient oak trees draped with Spanish moss.
Other Cities
The following are some of the other important cities:
Huntsville, now the Rocket City, was one of Alabama's first settlements. It remained a small farming community for more than 125 years. Its population was only 16,000 in 1950. About that time the Army began to develop a rocket and guided-missile center at the Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville. Thousands of scientists and other workers came to the area. So did dozens of new industries. Within 20 years Huntsville's population increased to more than 135,000. In 1960 a part of the arsenal was transferred to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This part was named the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
Tuscaloosa, the home of the University of Alabama, is located on the Black Warrior River at the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. Its name comes from the Indian words tuska, meaning "black," and lusa, meaning "warrior." The city's many industries include a large paper mill, a rubber-tire plant, textile mills, oil refineries, and plants that make metal products.
Gailstleii, northeast of Birmingham, is an important iron and steel center, as well as a distribution point for livestock and grain produced in the surrounding area.