Timeline of Montgomery, Alabama

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Montgomery, Alabama, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

19th century

• 1819 - Montgomery incorporated. ^[1]
• 1821
  • Montgomery Republican newspaper begins publication. ^[2]
  • Franklin Society founded. ^[3]
• 1824 - Presbyterian church ^[4] and Montgomery Light Infantry ^[3] established.
• 1828 - Alabama State Library headquartered in Montgomery. ^[5]
• 1833 - Montgomery Advertiser newspaper in publication.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1847 - Sons of Temperance formed. ^[3]
• 1850 - Lehman Brothers in business.
• 1851 - Alabama State Capitol built.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1861
  • February: Montgomery becomes capital of the Confederate States of America; First White House of the Confederacy established; Jefferson Davis sworn in as president. ^[6]
  • May 21: Confederate capitol relocated from Montgomery to Richmond, Virginia. ^[7]
• 1864 - Atlanta-Montgomery railroad destroyed by Union forces. ^[7]
• 1867 - Swayne School built. ^[4]
• 1870 - Population: 10,588. ^[4]
• 1873 - Chamber of Commerce established.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1877 - Second Colored Baptist Church established.
• 1887 - Normal School for Colored Students opens.
• 1889 - Hale Infirmary founded. ^[5]
• 1898 - Confederate monument dedicated. ^[4]
• 1899 - Montgomery Library Association organized. ^[8]
• 1900 - Population: 30,346. ^[4]

20th century

• 1901 - Alabama Department of Archives and History headquartered in Montgomery. ^[8]
• 1902 - St. Margaret's Hospital founded. ^[5]
• 1907 - Bell Building constructed.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1910
  • Wright Flying School begins operating. ^[9]
  • William Gunter becomes mayor. ^[4]
• 1913 - Rotary Club of Montgomery organized. ^[10]
• 1914 - Empire Theater built. ^[11]
• 1916 - Commission form of government adopted. ^[4]
• 1926
  • Junior League of Montgomery organized. ^[12]
  • Scottish Rite Temple constructed. ^[13]
• 1927 - Jefferson Davis Hotel built.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1929
  • Municipal airport begins operating. ^[14]
  • State Teachers College active.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1930
  • WSFA radio begins broadcasting. ^[15]
  • Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts established.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1938
  • Coca-Cola bottling facility in operation. ^[14]
  • WCOV radio begins broadcasting. ^[15]
• 1940
  • Population: 78,084.^{[ citation needed ]}
  • Veterans hospital begins operating. ^[14]
• 1941 - Mayor William Gunter dies. ^[1]
• 1942 - Montgomery Bible College founded. ^[13]
• 1946 — A devastating and deadly tornado struck the western portion of the city. The tornado killed 26 people, injured 293 others, and caused a city-wide blackout which lasted for hours. ^{[16] [17]}
• 1947 - Alabama Historical Association headquartered in city.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1948 - U.S. Maxwell Air Force Base established. ^[13]
• 1949 - City of Montgomery Library established.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1950 - Population: 106,525.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1953 - WCOV-TV (television) begins broadcasting. ^[18]
• 1954 - WSFA television begins broadcasting. ^[18]
• 1955 - December 1: Rosa Parks arrested; Montgomery bus boycott begins.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1956 - December 20: Racial segregation lawsuit Browder v. Gayle verdict takes effect; bus boycott ends. ^[19]
• 1960 - Population: 134,393.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1961 - May 20: Freedom Riders attacked. ^[6]
• 1964 - WKAB-TV begins broadcasting.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1965
  • March 7–25: Selma to Montgomery marches for voting rights. ^[6]
  • March 25: Martin Luther King Jr. delivers "How Long, Not Long" speech. ^[6]
• 1967
  • February 7: Dale's Penthouse fire. ^[13]
  • Auburn University at Montgomery established.^{[ citation needed ]}
  • Alabama Historical Commission headquartered in city.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1968 - Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery established. ^[20]
• 1971 - Southern Poverty Law Center founded.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1972 - Montgomery Zoo opens. ^[21]
• 1977
  • Wynnsong 10 cinema in business. ^[11]
  • Emory Folmar becomes mayor.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1978 - Montgomery Genealogical Society established. ^[22]
• 1980 - Population: 177,857.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1984 - Masjid Qasim Bilal El-Amin established. ^{[23] [24]}
• 1985 - Alabama Shakespeare Festival active.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1986 - Montgomery Area Food Bank established. ^{[25] [26]}
• 1989 - Civil Rights Memorial dedicated.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1990 - Population: 187,106.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1992 - Montgomery County Historical Society organized. ^[27]
• 1995 - Equal Justice Initiative and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum ^[20] established.
• 1997 - City website online (approximate date). ^{[28] [ chronology citation needed ]}
• 1999 - Bobby Bright becomes mayor.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 2000 - Population: 201,568.^{[ citation needed ]}

21st century

• 2005 - Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama factory begins operating.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 2009
  • Todd Strange becomes mayor.^{[ citation needed ]}
  • Sister city agreement established with Pietrasanta, Italy. ^[29]
• 2010 - Population: 205,764. ^[30]
• 2011 - Martha Roby becomes U.S. representative for Alabama's 2nd congressional district and Terri Sewell becomes U.S. representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district. ^[31]
• 2018 - April: National Memorial for Peace and Justice unveiled.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 2019 - Steven Reed becomes mayor.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 2020 - Population: 200,603. ^[32]
  • Montgomery records highest homicides total. ^[33]
• 2021 - Montgomery records highest homicide rate in history. At 77 homicides.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 2023 – On August 5, a viral brawl on a riverfront dock between the owners of a pontoon boat and the co-captain of the city-owned riverboat, Harriot II, gained national attention due to the violent nature and racial undertones. ^[34]
• 2025 – On October 4, a shootout between multiple individuals in downtown Montgomery killed two people and injured 12 others. ^[35]

See also

• History of Montgomery, Alabama
• List of mayors of Montgomery, Alabama
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Alabama
• Timelines of other cities in Alabama: Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Tuscaloosa

References

1. Federal Writers' Project 1941.
2. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
3. Benton 2013.
4. Owen 1921.
5. Thomas M. Owen, ed. (1907). Alabama Official and Statistical Register. State of Alabama Department of Archives and History.
6. "On This Day", New York Times, retrieved November 1, 2014
7. Brown 1998.
8. American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918. hdl:2027/mdp.39015013751220.
9. Julie Hedgepeth Williams (2010). Wings of Opportunity: The Wright Brothers in Montgomery, Alabama, 1910. NewSouth Books. ISBN   978-1-60306-093-6.
10. Who's who in the Montgomery Alabama Rotary Club, 1916
11. "Movie Theaters in Montgomery, AL". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
12. "History". Junior League of Montgomery. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
13. Hellmann 2006.
14. Newton 2010.
15. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Alabama", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC   2459636
16. Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant tornadoes, 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: Environmental Films. pp. 922–925. ISBN   1-879362-03-1.
17. F. C. Pate (United States Weather Bureau) (October 1946). "The Tornado at Montgomery, Alabama, February 12, 1945". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 27 (8). American Meteorological Society: 462–464. JSTOR   26257954 . Retrieved May 27, 2023.
18. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Alabama", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC   10512206
19. Robert L. Harris Jr.; Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (2013). "Chronology". Columbia Guide to African American History Since 1939. Columbia University Press. ISBN   978-0-231-51087-5.
20. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Alabama: Montgomery". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). Rowman Altamira. ISBN   0759100020.
21. Vernon N. Kisling, Jr., ed. (2001). "Zoological Gardens of the United States (chronological list)". Zoo and Aquarium History. USA: CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-4200-3924-5.
22. "Montgomery Genealogical Society" . Retrieved August 8, 2014.
23. "Masjid Qasim Bilal El-Amin". Montgomery, AL. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
24. Pluralism Project. "Birmingham, Alabama". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
25. "Montgomery Area Food Bank". Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
26. "Alabama Food Banks". Food Bank Locator. Chicago: Feeding America . Retrieved July 1, 2014.
27. "Montgomery County Historical Society" . Retrieved August 8, 2014.
28. "Welcome To Montgomery, Alabama". Archived from the original on April 22, 1997 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
29. "Montgomery now has a sister city", WSFA , April 29, 2009
30. "Montgomery city, Alabama". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
31. "Alabama". Official Congressional Directory. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 2011. ISBN   9780160886539.
32. "Montgomery city, Alabama : Population". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
33. "'68 was too high': Montgomery police chief addresses 2020 homicide rate". WSFA 12 News. Ashley Bowerman. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
34. Spells, Alta; Salahieh, Nouran; Young, Ryan; Sayers, Devon M.; Andone, Dakin (August 10, 2023). "Fourth person charged in connection with brawl at Montgomery riverfront dock". CNN . Retrieved October 10, 2025.
35. "2 killed and 12 wounded in shooting in downtown Montgomery, Alabama". NBC News . October 5, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• Montgomery City Directory. Advertiser Book and Job Printing Office. 1859.
• Code of the City of Montgomery, Montgomery, Ala: Gaines & Smith, printers, 1861, OCLC   5390201, OL   6531215M
• R.H. Long (1863), "Montgomery", Hunt's Gazetteer of the Border and Southern States, Pittsburgh, Pa.: John P. Hunt
• Directory of the City of Montgomery. Perry & Smith. 1866 – via Internet Archive.
• Jesse D. Beale; S. H. Phelan (1878). City Directory and History of Montgomery, Alabama. T.C. Bingham – via HathiTrust. (includes "A Brief History of Montgomery" by M.P. Blue)
• Berney, Saffold (1878), "Montgomery", Handbook of Alabama, Mobile: Mobile Register print.
• M. P. Blue, Churches of the City of Montgomery, Montgomery, 1878.
• McCall (1885). Sketch, historical and statistical, of the city of Montgomery.
• "Montgomery", Northern Alabama, Birmingham, Ala: Smith & De Land, 1888, OCLC   4215188
• "Montgomery", Rand, McNally & Co.'s Handy Guide to the Southeastern States, Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co., 1899

Published in the 20th century

• Montgomery (Ala (1902). Code of Ordinances of the City Council of Montgomery.
• "Montgomery", The United States (4th ed.), Leipzig: K. Baedeker, 1909, OCLC   02338437
• Tintgail Club (1920), Official guide to the city of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery: Paragon Press, OL   24158387M
• Thomas McAdory Owen (1921). "Montgomery". History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Vol. 2. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 1037–1040. hdl:2027/mdp.39015078279422.
• Federal Writers' Project (1941), "Montgomery", Alabama; a Guide to the Deep South, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House, hdl:2027/uc1.b4469723
• Code of the city of Montgomery, Alabama, 1952 – via Hathi Trust.
• Clanton W. Williams. The Early History of Montgomery and Incidentally of the State of Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1976
• Brown, Lynda; et al. (1998). "Chronology". Alabama History: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press. ISBN   978-0-313-28223-2.

Published in the 21st century

• J. Mills Thornton (2002). "Montgomery". Dividing Lines: Municipal Politics and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. University of Alabama Press. pp. 20–140. ISBN   978-0-8173-1170-4.
• Paul T. Hellmann (2006). "Alabama: Montgomery". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 16+. ISBN   1-135-94859-3.
• Wesley Phillips Newton (2010). Montgomery in the Good War: Portrait of a Southern City, 1939-1946. University of Alabama Press. ISBN   978-0-8173-5632-3.
• Jeffrey C. Benton (2013). Respectable and Disreputable: Leisure Time in Antebellum Montgomery. NewSouth Books. ISBN   978-1-60306-229-9.

External links

• Mary Ann Oglesby Neeley. "Montgomery". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama Humanities Foundation.
• Items related to Montgomery, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• "(City: Montgomery)". Alabama Repositories Directory. Alabama Department of Archives & History. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. A listing of public entities and private organizations holding historical records, artifacts, and other cultural heritage materials