Alabama Trivia & Tidbits - Page 5

Looking for Alabama trivia? Try our list Alabama little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The camellia japonica was named the official state flower in 1999, replacing the goldenrod. The evergreen shrub is prized for its pink, white and red flowers, which bloom from winter to spring.

first appeared: 6/25/2006

Mobile is the birthplace of public education in the state. Building began in 1836 on Barton Academy, the state's first public school. The landmark building still stands and houses administrative offices for the Mobile County Public School System.

first appeared: 6/4/2006

Jesse Owens, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Carl Lewis are among more than 200 athletes with Alabama ties whose stories and memorabilia are showcased at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in Birmingham.

first appeared: 5/21/2006

The city of Valley (pop. 9,198) was created in 1980 by combining four historic textile mill villages—Riverview, Fairfax, Langdale and Shawmut—along the Chattahoochee River. The incorporation process took 15 months.

first appeared: 5/14/2006

The 1800s Pine Torch Church in the William Bankhead National Forest in northwest Alabama is named for blazing pine knots that were used to light the church after dark. Churchgoers then walked home by torchlight.

first appeared: 4/23/2006

In 1907, Maud McLure Kelly was admitted to the University of Alabama School of Law at Tuscaloosa. She went on to become the state’s first woman to practice law and plead a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

first appeared: 4/9/2006

Little River is the nation’s longest mountaintop river, flowing almost its entire length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. The river is protected within the 14,000-acre Little River Canyon National Preserve, with its spectacular views of waterfalls, forested uplands, canyon rims and bluffs.

first appeared: 3/26/2006

A piece of the Far East is found in Wilderness Park in Prattville (pop. 24,303), where 10 acres of Asian bamboo grow up to 60 feet high. A resident planted the imported bamboo in 1940.

first appeared: 3/12/2006

William Rufus King is the only U.S. vice president to take the oath of office on foreign soil. In 1853, King was sworn in while in Cuba for tuberculosis treatment. King was a founder of Selma (pop. 20,512).

first appeared: 2/26/2006

Built in 1864, Kymulga Grist Mill near Childersburg (pop. 4,927) is among the state’s oldest operating mills and still grinds cornmeal. The mill park also is home to an 1860s covered bridge spanning Talladega Creek.

first appeared: 2/12/2006

The 100-mile Pinhoti Trail, which meanders across the mountainous Talladega National Forest and Cheaha State Park, is the state’s longest hiking trail. Plans are to connect the trail with the 2,250-mile Appalachian Trail.

first appeared: 1/29/2006

The state’s first professional author was Augusta Evans Wilson, who wrote Inez, A Tale of the Alamo in 1855 and the best-selling St. Elmo. She was born in 1835 in Columbus, Ga., and moved to Mobile as a teen.

first appeared: 1/15/2006

MISS ALABAMA 2006—Alexa Jones, who’s earning a master’s degree at the University of Alabama, founded the nonprofit organization Renaissance Foundation of Alabama to enhance arts education in schools.

first appeared: 1/8/2006

Edmond Knowles of Flomaton (pop. 1,588) set a world record when he cashed in his 38-year penny collection last June. The pennies, stored in four 55-gallon and three 20-gallon barrels, yielded $13,084.59, the largest personal penny cash-in ever recorded.

first appeared: 1/1/2006

The first golfer teed off at Highland Park Golf Course, the state’s oldest golf course, in Birmingham in 1903. Architect Bob Cupp renovated the par-70 course, originally the Country Club of Birmingham, in 1998.

first appeared: 12/18/2005

Captain Crunch, a 13-foot-long alligator, is billed as having a bite with a force of 2,982 pounds and is the star among 150 other alligators at Alligator Alley in Summerdale (pop. 655). The facility takes in alligators deemed to be nuisances in Florida and provides them a natural habitat in which to live.

first appeared: 12/4/2005

Like the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, a bronze 31-foot-tall and 10-ton replica made in 1956 for Liberty National Life Insurance Co. in Birmingham, was cast in France. The statue was moved in 1989 from the roof of Liberty National to a new home in the Liberty Park area.

first appeared: 11/20/2005

The Bright Star restaurant in Bessemer (pop. 29,672) opened in 1907 as a small cafe with only a horseshoe-shaped bar. The restaurant has been at its current location since 1915 and reportedly is the state’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. Its specialties include Greek-style snapper and steaks of all kinds.

first appeared: 11/6/2005

Northport (pop. 19,435) has crafted a reputation as an artists’ haven and is home to Kentuck Art Center, which includes an art museum, artists’ studios, and a shop that sells art and crafts.

first appeared: 10/23/2005

The Korean automaker Hyundai opened its first U.S. manufacturing plant last May in Montgomery. When the $1.1 billion plant is operating at full capacity, 2,000 employees will manufacture 300,000 vehicles a year.

first appeared: 10/9/2005

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