ALABAMA STATE CAPITOL

The original capitole was built in 1846-47, according to the plans of architect Stephen Decatur Button (1813-1897) at the top of this barn called "Goat Hill". Destroyed by a fire in 1849, the building was replaced, according to the same plans, by the current capitole in 1850-51. Changes were made to it in 1885, with the creation of a building in a rear extension and then in 1908-1912, with the addition of the two lateral halves, and finally, in 1992, that of a new extension to the rear. In addition to its crucial role as headquarters of the government of Alabama, the State Capitol is famous for being the place where delegates from several southern states met on February 4, 1861 (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina) to decide on Secession. On 18 February 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate states. The capitol until May 29, 1865, was the seat of Confederation. A century later, he was the arrival point for the civic rights march organized from Selma to Montgomery by Martin Luther King from March 21 to 25, 1965. The State Capitol is located at the end of what became the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.