Alabama National Historic Trails (Non-Units)

5/20/2003 Back on the road east, ... then getting on the Selma to Montgomery NHT [also the Selma to Montgomery March Byway]. Went all the way to Selma and stopped at the National Voting Rights Museum, just over the bridge where the march was beaten back once before succeeding.

The Trail sign

National Voting Rights Museum

The museum inside

The Edmund Petus bridge

3/24/2023 On the road into Montgomery where we hit a number of sights. First, the Alabama Capitol Building and First Confederate Capital NHL. The building holds the unique historical distinction of being the only U.S. state capitol building ever to host the formation of another nation. ... we headed out and down Dexter Avenue, noting we were on the start of the Selma to Montgomery NHT. .... A couple blocks down we hit the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church NHL. Important in the civil rights movement and American history, Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor of this church from 1954 to 1960. ... Back near the car we checked out the mural “A Mighty Walk” about the Selma-Montgomery march. It depicts Alabama state troopers, national guardsmen, demonstrators, and prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. ... From here we tried to follow our GPS route to Selma on the Selma to Montgomery NHT and Montgomery March Scenic Byway (AAR), but it kept taking us odd ways, so we supplemented with point-to-point navigating on the phone. … then got on US 80 which was a straight shot on the NHT/AAR into Selma. We noted the signage for three of the campsites the marchers used, and stopped at Camp 2 (Rosie Steele Farm) for a sign photo, there being nothing left otherwise. We crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge into Selma and immediately parked for photos of the NHL. This is a steel through arch bridge named for Confederate general Edmund Winston Pettus and famous as the site of the 1965 conflict when armed officers attacked peaceful civil rights demonstrators attempting to march to Montgomery. We were approached by some shady characters in this area, but managed to get them to leave us alone as we walked on the bridge for a bit to photo the NHL plaque nicely placed up high on the structure. Moving on just a little, noting that Selma is a sad little town, we stopped at the Brown Chapel A.M.E Church NHL, a starting point for the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965, and it played a major role in the events that led to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Finally we stopped at First Baptist Church which we thought might be something official for the Byway, but although it did have interpretive signage noting the start of the NHT a few blocks away at the Brown church, and an NHT road sign, there was nothing else notable.

Alabama Capitol Building

Interpretive signage ...

... about the NHT

Double-sided ...

... state interpretive sign

Church signage ...

Dexter Ave. Baptist

... and me out front

Mural "A Mighty Walk"

Mural info ...

... and Ken checking it out

Along the NHT ...

... with signage

Back towards Montgomery ...

... and on to Selma

Nice signage!

Me photoing a sign for ...

... one of the campsites

Official logo

Edmund Pettus Bridge

See the plaque?

Still on the NHT ...

... with another sign

Brown Chapel A.M.E Church

Ken photos the NHL plaque

NHT sign by First Baptist

NHT signage ...

... with a you-are-here ...

and the NHT route in town

See the Church?

Back to Montgomery ...

... on the NHT

National Historic Trails (Non-Units) - Alabama