Alabama History and Facts

Alabama was admitted as the 22nd State on December 14, 1819. It is named after a southern Native American Indian tribe that lived in the central part of the area that is now called Alabama. The name is associated with a subdivision of the Chickasaw Indians.

The area that is now Alabama was originally explored by the Spanish in the 1500's. In the early 1700's the French established a number of cities in the area. During the American Revolution, the Spanish took Mobile from the French to reestablish their presence. In the early 1800's the United States began occupying the land and in 1817 it was named an U.S. Territory.

Alabama has a land area of 50,744 square miles. With 87.6 people per square mile, the state's population density is 10% larger than the average for the United States. Montgomery is the state capital, with a population of 170,773. The state now has a population of over 4,250,000.

The Alabama economy is primarily driven by agriculture and industry. Agriculture mainly consists of poultry and eggs, cattle, nursery stock, peanuts, cotton, vegetables, milk and soybeans. Industry is mostly paper, lumber and wood products, mining, rubber and plastic products, transportation equipment and apparel. Dothan is the center of peanut production in Alabama; within a 75-mile radius of the city, a full quarter of the U.S.'s peanuts are grown.

Alabama economic information is available, including a statistical abstract of the state and links to federal statistical information. The Federal Reserve has lots of valuable statistical information.

Read more about Alabama and the state's flag, seal, symbols and songs at the state's Web site and at 50States.com.

Local History

Find out about the following Alabama communities:

• Cullman History
• Dothan History
• Enterprise History
• Ft. Payne History