MONTGOMERY
2.Montgomery, capital of the state of Alabama, U.S., and seat (1822) of
Montgomery county, located in the central part of the state. The city lies near the
point where the Alabama River is formed by the confluence of the Coosa and
Tallapoosa rivers. It was originally the site of Native American villages and was
visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540. About 1717 the French built
Fort Toulouse on the river a short distance north of the present site of Montgomery.
The city was founded and chartered in 1819 with the consolidation of two
settlements and named for General Richard Montgomery, who had been killed
during the American Revolution. It was made the state capital in 1846. In February
1861, just before the start of the American Civil War, Montgomery became the first
capital of the Confederacy.
3.Montgomery is a relatively large city located in the state of Alabama. With
a population of 198,525 people and 58 constituent neighborhoods, Montgomery is
the second largest community in Alabama.
4.Montgomery is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call
Montgomery home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and
ethnic groups. The greatest number of Montgomery residents report their race to be
Black or African-American, followed by White. Important ancestries of people in
Montgomery include English, Irish, German, African, and Scottish.
The most common language spoken in Montgomery is English. Other
important languages spoken here include Spanish and Korean.
5-7.MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Violent crime is on the rise across
America, and the city of Montgomery is following in line with the nations trend.
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So far in 2021, the Montgomery Police Department is investigating 27
homicides, an increase from the 20 homicides seen this same time last year.
In eight days, at least 14 people were shot in the city. Seven of those
victims were shot in a single night at a local gas station. Two Montgomery
Police Officers are also among those shot.“Our rate of crime has probably risen
within the last two years when I first came in. We have a lot of homicides, we
have a lot of robberies, so we are doing everything to combat that. I have put
cameras up in some of my neighborhoods that was ravaged with crime and we
also doing off duty police officers and private security companies to combat
some of the things that we are seeing the in the city of Montgomery right now,”
Mitchell said.
8.The Third Quarter 2020 Alabama Housing Affordability Index report
from the Culverhouse College of Business at The University of Alabama gave
Montgomery an AHA Index Score of 220.0, while Mobile received a score of
222.0 and Birmingham a score of 181.0. This means that, based on the AHA
Index Score, buying a house in Montgomery is more affordable than
Birmingham or Mobile
9.The per capita income in Montgomery in 2018 was $28,191, which is upper
middle income relative to Alabama, and middle income relative to the rest of the
US. This equates to an annual income of $112,764 for a family of four. However,
Montgomery contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
10-12.Montgomery is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar,
instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall,
Montgomery is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and service
providers. There are especially a lot of people living in Montgomery who work in
office and administrative support (13.15%), sales jobs (10.28%), and management
occupations (9.11%).
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Also of interest is that Montgomery has more people living here who work in
computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.
One thing that you will notice about Montgomery is that there is a good-sized
population of people who are young, single, educated, and upwardly-mobile career
starters. Many singles consider Montgomery a good place to live without being in a
really big city, with opportunities for friendships and fun with others like
themselves.
13-14.Montgomery developed as an important centre and market for cotton,
livestock, yellow pine, and hardwood. Services, especially government and health
care, now form a major part of the city’s economy. Livestock and dairying are also
important. Industry includes poultry and beef processing and the manufacture of
water heaters, wood products, plastics, textiles, and aircraft parts.
15,The Civil Air Patrol is a congressionally chartered, federally supported
non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United
States Air Force. CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded
membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and occupations.
Civil Air Patrol has been around for a long time. It was founded back in 1941. This
established organization loves to hire graduates from Liberty University, with
10.5% of its employees having attended Liberty University. Civil Air Patrol is a
great place to work and is featured as number 12 on Zippia's list of Best Companies
to Work for in Montgomery, AL. Civil Air Patrol is an industry leader with 10,500
employees and an annual revenue of $750.0M that is headquartered in Alabama.
16.Baptist Health exists to promote and improve the physical, emotional and
spiritual well-being of the people and communities it serves. The staff at Baptist
Medical Center South come from unusually diverse demographic backgrounds. The
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organization is 73.7% female and 39.7% ethnic minorities. Baptist Medical Center
South employees are slightly more likely to be members of the Democratic Party
than the Republican Party, with 54.2% of employees identifying as members of the
Democratic Party.
Baptist Health exists to promote and improve the physical, emotional and
spiritual well-being of the people and communities it serves. The staff at Baptist
Medical Center South come from unusually diverse demographic backgrounds.
The organization is 73.7% female and 39.7% ethnic minorities. Baptist Medical
Center South employees are slightly more likely to be members of the
Democratic Party than the Republican Party, with 54.2% of employees
identifying as members of the Democratic Party.
17.Advanced Manufacturing
Montgomery is home to Hyundai Motor Company’s first North American
production facility, a $1B investment. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama
(HMMA) has been named the most efficient and highest productivity auto OEM
in North America. HMMA and its suppliers have an annual economic impact of
$4.82B to the State of Alabama’s economy.
18-19.Baptist Health is the largest healthcare system serving central
Alabama. Baptist Medical Center South is a 454-licensed-bed regional acute
care referral center and the tertiary care flagship facility for Baptist Health.
Baptist Medical Center East is a 150-bed acute care hospital providing a broad
range of healthcare services, specializing in obstetrics and women’s services.
Prattville Baptist Hospital is an acute care, community hospital with 85 licensed
beds, offering a full range of health services to residents of Autauga and Elmore
counties.
In addition to comprehensive hospital-based services, it also offers
outpatient specialties such as diabetes, breast health, wound care, neurosciences,
home health, hospice, sleep disorders, mental health, speech and hearing and
physical rehabilitation.
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Baptist Health is the largest healthcare system serving central Alabama,
providing comprehensive hospital-based and outpatient services to residents in
Central Alabama.
Our commitment to providing compassionate care and advanced
technology offerings is relevant today and in the future for each and every
patient we serve. We recognize the importance of meeting patients where they
are at and helping them plan for healthy futures, and we look forward to serving
you.
Baptist Health has placed a strong emphasis on teaching our community
members to reduce their risks of illness and disease while encouraging them to
live healthier lives. Our providers know that wellness conversations are not the
wave of the future, but instead, life-changing conversations for today. The
Baptist Health focus on preventive care began well ahead of its time, and
continues today because your best life is our primary goal.
Baptist Health remains at the forefront of cutting edge advances in
medical technology, always redefining possibilities in healthcare. We are proud
to be one of the most technologically advanced health systems in Alabama –
delivering high-tech care to Central Alabama.
Our patients also want to know that they are receiving excellent medical
services with their financial health in mind, also. Baptist Health is deeply
committed to keeping costs down as we expand our services to meet the needs
of central Alabama. We care about what matters to you.
20-23.The education level of Montgomery citizens is substantially higher
than the typical US community, as 32.78% of adults in Montgomery have at
least a bachelor's degree.
Alabama's programs of higher education include fourteen four-year
public universities, numerous two-year community colleges, and 17 private,
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undergraduate and graduate universities. Public, post-secondary education in
Alabama is overseen by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
Colleges and universities in Alabama offer degree programs from two-year
associate degrees to 16 doctoral level programs.
Accreditation of academic programs is through the Southern Association
of Schools and Colleges as well as a plethora of subject focused national and
international accreditation agencies.
24.About a 15-minute walk from the Legacy Museum is the newly
unveiled National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the first memorial in the
nation to be made in memory of the African Americans who were affected by
slavery, lynchings, and racial injustice. This memorial, covering a total of six
acres, includes sculptures, monuments, and artwork, which honor major figures
in the Civil Rights movement.
Perhaps the most impactful statement is the field of 800 monuments, each
representing a county where lynchings occurred, and each engraved with the
names of the known victims. These monuments are waiting to be claimed by
their respective counties in hopes that acknowledgement of a dark past will lead
to a brighter future.
25.A visit to the MOOseum is one of the more unique things to do in
Montgomery, especially popular with younger children. Here, visitors will learn
all about Alabama's cattle industry, from its start in 1495 to the present-day,
through timelines, history exhibits, and video presentations.
You can learn all about cows, from their breeds and complex digestive
system to the food and products they produce. Kids can dress up as cowboys
and cowgirls in the play arena and learn about beef and food safety in Slim's
Kitchen. Another highlight is the "Beef Wagon," a popular place for family
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photo-ops.
26.The Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church was founded in
1877 on the site of a slave trader's pen. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr served
as pastor here from 1954 through 1960, and a mural inside the church features
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's journey from Montgomery to Memphis.
King and his family lived in the church's nine-room parsonage during his
tenure, and it now houses the Dexter Parsonage Museum. The home, which is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been restored to what it
was like during the Kings' residence, including a significant amount of the
original furnishings.
The museum also houses an interpretive center with photographs,
exhibits, and timelines, which discuss the civil rights movement in Montgomery
and the involvement of the church ministers and members. Behind the museum
sits the King-Johns Garden for Reflection, a space set aside for meditation and
reflection.
27.The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is located in downtown
Montgomery near the site of her arrest after her legendary stand against
segregation. Among the historic artifacts on display are a 1955 Montgomery
city bus and one of the station wagons used by the boycotters during their
movement to end segregation on public transportation.
Other exhibits include photographs, court documents, and even Rosa's
original fingerprint record from her arrest. Visitors will learn about the social
and political climate of 1950s Montgomery and will be moved as they hear the
personal stories of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other important moments
in Civil Rights history. The museum also hosts special events, educational
programs, and traveling exhibits throughout the year.
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28.
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In 1886, Montgomery became the first U.S. city to initiate an
electric streetcar system, although Richmond, Virginia, claims the same
for their system begun in 1888. The drama revolves around
Montgomery's quickly dealing with maintenance and damage issues,
according to a 1994 Montgomery Advertiser archive.
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1902 - St. Margaret's Hospital founded.
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1929 Municipal airport begins operating.
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1930 Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts established.
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1955 - December 1: Rosa Parks arrested; Montgomery bus
boycott begins.
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1956 - December 20: Racial segregation lawsuit Browder v.
Gayle verdict takes effect; bus boycott ends.
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2005 - Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama factory
begins operating.
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2018 - April: National Memorial for Peace and Justice
unveiled.
29.
Birthplace of open-heart surgery
It was in 1902 when Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill made medical history by
performing the first successful open-heart surgery in the country — on a kitchen
table in a Montgomery home where the light was provided by oil lamps,
according to Montgomery Advertiser archives. He opened the chest of a young
boy who had been stabbed in the heart and sutured the wound.
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Home to first civilian flight school
The world-famous Wright Brothers have a claim in the city's history and
its continued significance in the area of aviation. Just seven years after their
historic first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they opened the first
civilian flight school at what is now Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in 1910.
The man and meaning behind Goat Hill
When asked why the State Capitol is referred to as Goat Hill, the answer
that goats once grazed there seems just a little too simple to be true. It is just
that: it was the grassiest place in town and hence the gathering place of the
town's goats.
First air-conditioned theater
Speaking of the big screen, Montgomery, once again proving to be ahead
of its time in terms of technological advances, is home to the first movie theater
with air conditioning.
In 1911, the Empire Theater was the first known theater to use
refrigeration, similar to air conditioning but not quite as great.
30.Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1954, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. became the minister of the
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, now Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist
Church. After successfully leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and
1956, he became America's greatest civil rights leader. He organized the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his leadership in protests in
Birmingham and other Southern cities and the March on Washington, helped
earn him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968.
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Rosa L. Parks
When she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on Dec. 1,
1955, Parks helped spark not only the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but the civil
rights movement. She was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress'
highest honor, in 1999. Troy University Montgomery founded the Rosa L. Parks
Library and Museum, 252 Montgomery St., which honors her accomplishments
as well as houses civil rights records and memorabilia. Her death on Oct. 24,
2005, sparked international
The Wright Brothers
Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the airplane, had a flying
school in Montgomery in 1910 on the current site of Maxwell Air Force Base.
During the four months the brothers were in Montgomery, they started the first
civilian flight school in the country, had the first night flight in the world, and
made decisions that would change dramatically the design of their aircraft by
adding a rear stabilizer, a much more powerful engine and landing wheels
instead of a sled. A statue in their honor has been erected on the base.
31.Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald
She met F. Scott Fitzgerald while he was stationed in Montgomery. In
1917, he left Princeton to join the Army. The money from his first novel, "This
Side of Paradise," allowed him enough financial security to marry her.
Fitzgerald, the author of such works as "The Great Gatsby" and "Tender is the
Night," and his wife, a dancer/writer/painter, became the most celebrated couple
of "the Jazz Age." The house at 919 Felder Ave., where the couple briefly lived
in the 1930s, has become The Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum.
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
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The famous blues singer was born in Montgomery on Dec. 11, 1926.
Thornton's hits included "Hound Dog," which sold more than 2 million copies
before Elvis Presley recorded it, and "Ball and Chain," which was a huge hit for
her before Janis Joplin recorded it.
32.The word Alabama means tribal town in the Creek Indian language.
1.
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus pleipuss) is the state’s
official insect.
2.
To help fund education Alabama instituted its state sales
tax in 1937.
3.
In 1902 Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open
heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere by suturing a stab wound in a
young boy’s heart. The surgery occurred in Montgomery.
4.
Alabama workers built the first rocket to put humans on the
moon.
5.
The world’s first Electric Trolley System was introduced in
Montgomery in 1886.
6.
State flower is Camellia
7.
The Black Pearl was built in Alabama. One of the pirate
ships featured in Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” film franchise was
built at Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre.
8.
There really is a place called Sweet Home, Ala., and it’s a
historic house in Bessemer.
9.
The telegram that began the Civil War was sent from
Montgomery by Huntsville native and Confederate Secretary of War
Leroy Pope Walker on April 11, 1861.
10.
Did you know one of Disney's most famous villains, Cruella
De Vil, was from the Alabama?
11.
In this State marriages between blood relatives are legal.
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