Little-Known Facts About Alabama

There are several little-known facts about Alabama that most people, even lifelong residents, may not know about this historic state.

Founded on December 14, 1819, this state has a long history of Civil Rights and all the ensuing struggles, the numerous Civil War historic places and events, as well as a very long and storied college football history.

However, what is not well known are 25 very interesting facts that very few other states can claim.

While Alabama is best known by the name ‘The Heart of Dixie”, there are also other names is has called.

They include the Cotton State, the Yellowhammer State, the Camellia State, as well as the Lizard State.

This state at one time was called the “Lizard State” for one simple reason; there were literally thousands of lizards that were found along it numerous streams and rivers.

However, those are not included in the top 25 “little known facts about Alabama” as here is the list of those very interesting facts.

First Electric Trolley System In Montgomery and the Country

The First Ten Little-Known Facts about Alabama

Here is the list of the first 10 of the 25 little-known facts about Alabama.

The First Electronic Trolley System in the country was located was in Montgomery.
It is the only state in the country that has all the major resources to make Iron and Steel.
The first Open Heart Surgery was performed here.
It is home to the first Space Camp and Space Camp Hall of Fame.
The first rocket to put humans on the moon was built in this state.
It is the founding state of Veterans Day and hosts the oldest Veterans Day parade.
It is the only state in the country where “Jubilee” occurs on a regular basis.
The first Flight School in the country was opened in Montgomery.
It is the home to the Oldest Baseball Park in the United States”
It has an estimated “240 Caves” in Huntsville alone and over 2,000 mapped caves in the nearby counties.

The First Electronic Trolley System

The first “electronic trolley system” was built on the city of Montgomery in the year 1886.

While many inventors were experimenting with individual electric cars for several years before this system, this was the first entire trolley system to be built that actually ran.

It was called the ‘Capital City Street Railway” and ran for 50 years before it was retired in 1936.

The Only State That Has All the Resources to Make Iron and Steel

This history rich state is the only state in the country the is blessed with all the major natural resources that are needed to make that much needed iron and steel that helps supply the country.

Because of this, it is the largest supplier of both cast-iron as well as steel pipe products not only in the country, but in the world.

Open Heart Surgery

In the year 1902, a native of Montgomery Alabama, Dr. Luther Hill, became the first American to preform what is today known as “open heart surgery”.

A young man had been stabbed in the heart and to save him, the Doctor opened his chest and sutured the wound to his heart.

Alabama’s Space Connections

Next on the list of “little-known facts about Alabama” is its historic connection to the U.S Space program.

Located in Huntsville, the U.S Space and Rocket Center is home to the first Space Camp not only in the country, but in the world.

Workers from the state helped to build the first rocket that put humans on the moon, and because of this, it is also home to the Space Camp Hall of Fame.

Home of Veterans Day

The state’s largest city, Birmingham, is known as the city that founded what is known today as “Veterans Day”, and annually holds not only the oldest celebration honoring our nations Veterans, but also the nation’s largest celebration.

Jubilee

The term “Jubilee” refers to naturally occurring phenomenon where sea life gets caught in low oxygenated water.

This sea life includes crabs, flounder, and shrimp, and when this occurs, they all swim toward the shoreline.

The city of Mobile is blessed with this series of unique “little known facts about Alabama”, as it occurs on a regular basis in this city.

As a result, thousands of people show up at the shore to gather the incoming seafood.

The First Flight School

The next of the list of “little-known facts about Alabama” is that the famous brothers who invented flight, Orville and Wilbur Wright, opened their first flight school in the year 1910 in Montgomery.

When the threat of World War I ensued, the War Department established an engine and repair depot on this site, and today it is known as Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex.

The Oldest Baseball Park in the Country

One of the most interesting of the “little-known facts about Alabama” is Rickwood Field, which is officially the “oldest baseball park” in the country.

With all the rich history of baseball, this fact shocks most people, but Rickwood Field was opened in the year 1910 in Birmingham.

During its very rich and storied history, it has hosted baseball legends such as Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, as well as “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.

The Caves in Alabama

While this historic state is not thought of when it comes to caves, there are an estimated 240 caves catalogued by the States Cave Survey just within the city limits of Huntsville.

Between the counties of Jackson and Madison, there are also another estimated 2,000 mapped caves.

Rickwood Field in Birmingham Alabama

The Second Ten Little-Known Facts about Alabama

Here is the list of the second 10 of the 25 “little known-facts about Alabama”

The State is the home of the largest fishing tournament in the world.
Athens State University is the oldest institute of learning in the state.
The Alabama Department of Archives is the oldest in the country.
Alabama has its own official soil.
The States Constitution is the Longest in the world.
Alabama had the first coin that featured “braille”.
The State has had five different capitols.
Alabama has a famous hiking trail named for “bigfoot”.
Auburn became the first state college to admit women.
Alabama is home close to 50% of all the snail species in the country.

The Largest Fishing Tournament

Dauphin Island Alabama has an annual Deep-Sea Fishing Rodeo, and it is considered to be the single largest fishing tournament in the world.

It is a three-day long event and annually draws over 75,000 spectators.

The Oldest Institute of Learning

Perhaps one the most intriguing of the “little-known facts about Alabama” is this one, simply because of the famous history of the University of Alabama as well as the University of Auburn.

However, the distinction of the oldest institute of learning in the state goes to Athens State University.

Located in Athens Alabama, it was founded in 1822 as a female academy, and it is considered be “unusual” in nature.

The reason for this is that it is a “senior” college, meaning that it only accepts students that have already completed their freshman and sophomore years of learning.

It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1985.

The Department of Archives

The next on the list of “little-known facts about Alabama” is the States Department of Archives, which was created in the year 1901 to both collect as well as preserve historical artifacts.

It is also officially the oldest state funded archival agency in the country.

The Official Soil

This historic state is also very unique in that it has its own official soil referred to as “Bama Soil.”

Bama Soil was designated by the state’s Legislature in the year 1997, and this unique soil is found in level to gently sloping areas that are near high stream terraces that run parallel to major river systems.

The Longest Constitution in the World

The next of the “little-known facts about Alabama” is its state constitution.

Adopted in the year 1908, it has a whopping 300,000 words which makes it not only the longest state constitution in the county, but also in the world.

However, its uniqueness does not end there, as it is also the most amended in the world with over 775 amendments.

The Helen Keller Braille Coin

The First Braille Coin

This historic state is also unique in that it has the first coin that ever featured “braille.”

The Alabama Quarter was made featuring the famous Alabama Icon Helen Keller, who was born in Tuscumbia in 1880.

She became both deaf as well as blind after a fever when she was only 19 months old.

Five Different Capitals

The next item on the list of “little-known facts about Alabama” is that it has had five different capitals since officially becoming a state in 1819.

They include the cities of St. Stephen, Huntsville, Cahaba, Tuscaloosa, and the current capital city, Montgomery.

The Bigfoot Hiking Trail

Next on the list is a hiking trail named after the elusive Sasquatch, better known as Bigfoot.

Known as the Leave No Trace Bigfoot Challenge Trail, it connects the Cheaha State Park Motel to the highest point in the state.

This historic trail has numerous signs that teach hikers how to care for the forest and has Bigfoot cutouts for kids to count along the way.

The motel also has a statue of the legendary creature.

The First State College to Admit Women

In the year 1892, the University of Auburn became the first state college to officially admit women to their campus.

Home of Snails

The next of the “little-known facts about Alabama” is that it has a whopping 43% of all the known snail species that are found in the entire country.

There are also five other “little known facts about Alabama” that most people, even lifelong residents of the state, may not know about.

These five include the following:

The city of Anniston has the world’s largest office chair that is located at Miller Furniture.
The largest collections of George and Martha Washington artifacts located outside of Mt. Vernon can be found at the Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington, located in Columbiana Alabama.
How the saying “Stars fell on Alabama” came about. On a summer night in the year 2002, there was a huge and spectacular meteor shower over the state that virtually lit up the sky and looked like stars were falling on the state.

The fourth and fifth of the last five of the “little-known facts about Alabama” include two very strange laws in the state.

The first is that it is illegal for anyone to place common table salt on a railroad track. It is punishable by death as of the year 2013.
There is also a very strange law that the makes it illegible for any type of wresting match between humans and bears to take place.

This historic state that is full of history does indeed have some facts that are not well known.

References

https://www.al.com/living/2017/06/50_things_you_might_not_know_a.html

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