Montgomery is the capital of Alabama and became the first capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861.
The city sits along the Alabama River in the south-central part of the state. It was formed in 1819 when the settlements of East Alabama Town and New Philadelphia merged, and it was named for Revolutionary War general Richard Montgomery.
Montgomery became Alabama’s state capital in 1846, replacing Tuscaloosa. In February 1861, delegates meeting there created the Confederate government and selected Montgomery as its temporary capital. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated there before the Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Virginia, later that year.
Montgomery is also closely associated with the civil rights movement. The 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott began after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat. The Alabama State Capitol remains a major landmark near the route of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march.