Alabama state

Before the Civil War, architecture was one of the most important fine arts. Some of the beautiful homes that were built before the war may be seen in the older cities, such as Selma, Huntsville, Eufaula, Greensboro,

Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.

The Art Museum at Birmingham and the Museum of Fine Arts at Montgomery have large collections of paintings. The following arc among the other noted museums:

The Alabama Museum of Natural History, at the University of Alabama, has an excellent display of rocks and minerals.

Mound State Monument, a state park and museum at Moundville, near

Tuscaloosa, preserves ancient mounds that Indians built for their temples, council" houses, and burial places. Relics from the grounds in the park, such as skeletons, tools, ornaments, and pottery, are displayed in the museum.

The Regar Museum of Natural History, at Anniston, contains an unusual display of 900 specimens of birds, with nests and eggs.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Some of the many other interesting places have been made by people. Some, such as mountains, forests, and white sand beaches, arc nature's own work.

Historic Places

Many historic treasures are preserved in Alabama's museums. The following are a few of the historic places in various parts of the state:

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, on the Tallapoosa River, marks the site of General Andrew Jackson's victory over the Creek Indians.

The Natchez Trace Parkway crosses the northwestern corner of Alabama. It extends from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. The parkway commemorates a famous Indian trail and pioneer highway.

Russell Cave National Monument, at Bridgeport in northeast Alabama, was established in 1961. In the cave, scientists have found records of almost continuous human habitation from at least 6000 b.c. to about a.d. 1650.

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site includes Tuskegee Institute, the

George Washington Carver Museum, and Booker T. Washington's home. The museum includes displays of African art and George Washington Carver's agricultural experiments.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at Mobile, stands on land that the first settlers used as a burying ground.

The State Capitol, Montgomery, is a stately building, similar in appearance to the National Capitol. For the first few months of the Civil

War, it served as the capitol of the Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis' Home, in Montgomery, is known as the first White House of the Confederacy because it was here that President Davis lived when

Montgomery was the Confederate capital.

Parks and Forests

Alabama has four national forests. The Talladega National Forest has two sections, one in the central part of the state and the other in the east.

The William B. Bankhead National Forest, formerly the Black Warrior

National Forest, is in the northwest. The Tuskegee, smallest of the national forests, is in the east, and the Conecuh is in the south.