Historic Towns in Alabama

Alabama's small towns carry layers of American history — from antebellum architecture to Civil Rights milestones — wrapped in Southern hospitality and live-oak canopies.

Mooresville (population ~60) is Alabama's oldest incorporated town, established in 1818 — a year before Alabama became a state. The entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places. White clapboard homes, a brick church from 1839, and a post office that has operated continuously since 1840 line the single street.

Fairhope on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay was founded in 1894 as a utopian single-tax colony. Today it's a charming arts community with a downtown full of bookshops, galleries, and cafés. The rose garden on the bay bluff and the municipal pier are iconic.

Mentone sits atop Lookout Mountain in DeKalb County. This artists' retreat has a handful of shops, a summer camp, and an old-fashioned general store. The surrounding forests and waterfalls make it feel like a mountain hideaway.

Selma is one of the most historically significant towns in America. The Edmund Pettus Bridge, where marchers were attacked on Bloody Sunday in 1965, is a National Historic Landmark. The town's Civil Rights trail also includes Brown Chapel AME Church and the National Voting Rights Museum.

Eufaula on the Chattahoochee River has one of the largest collections of antebellum and Victorian homes in the Southeast. The Seth Lore and Irwinton Historic District includes over 700 historic structures. The annual Eufaula Pilgrimage opens many private homes to public tours.

Florence in the Shoals region has a surprisingly rich cultural heritage. It's home to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, the W.C. Handy Home and Museum (father of the blues), and proximity to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and FAME Studios — where Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, and countless others recorded.

Demopolis sits at the confluence of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers. Bluff Hall and Gaineswood are two of the finest antebellum mansions in the state, both open for tours.

Monroeville is the hometown of Harper Lee and Truman Capote. The old courthouse, which inspired the courtroom in "To Kill a Mockingbird," now serves as a museum and hosts an annual theatrical production of the novel.

Alabama's historic towns are living museums of American history, architecture, and culture.