Since 1976 state-sponsored Alabama Historical Commission markers highlight properties listed on the state or national registers of historical places, such as the Rowan House in Leeds. (Photo Courtesy of Robin McDonald)
Thanks to a big decision made by a small but committed group of state historians decades ago, a drive down an Alabama highway has become an education in our past. At its first meeting in 1948, the Alabama Historical Association (AHA) embarked on a plan to commemorate historic sites in the state with roadside markers. Today, a sign labeled “Ellicott’s Stone” on Highway 43 north of Mobile marks the path to the stone laid by surveyor Andrew Ellicott in 1799 to identify the U.S. border with Spain. In downtown Huntsville, a marker at the site of “The Big Spring” tells the story of the city’s birth. Every year there are new treats for the traveler. After sixty years and some seven hundred historical markers, this program continues to be a vital part of the AHA’s efforts to promote interest in and the study of Alabama’s past.
The AHA was formed as a private organization to bring together professional and amateur historians “to discover, procure, preserve, and diffuse whatever may relate to the natural, civil, literary, cultural, economic, ecclesiastical, and political history of the State of Alabama.” To accomplish these ambitious goals, the organization holds annual meetings to share information on topics of historical interest, publishes a quarterly historical journal, The Alabama Review, and supports a committee to suggest historic sites worthy of commemoration.
Historical markers or, more frequently, monuments had been placed by various groups in the state for years. Women’s patriotic societies, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, were especially active, as were community preservationists who sought to promote local history. In launching their new historical marker program, the leaders of the fledgling AHA were careful to explain that they did not intend to supersede those traditional efforts, but they did seek to bring some standardization to the commemoration activities and to encompass the history of the entire state.
Toward this end, the AHA’s marker committee set about compiling lists of deserving sites, then composing texts and soliciting funds for the proposed signs. Creek War and Civil War sites figured prominently in the early selections, with early industrial sites and academic institutions recognized here and there. After a period of experimentation, the AHA settled on a standard design pattern for the markers by 1952. The post-mounted, double-faced cast aluminum plate displayed gold text contrasted against a deep blue background and featured the red and white Alabama state flag in the crest. The distinctive design remains the standard to this day.
The AHA’s marker committee no longer draws up lists of deserving sites, nor does it claim to be the final arbiter in determining if a site is “historic” enough to qualify for an AHA-sponsored marker. Reasoning that a local community can best decide what is of historical significance to the area, the committee focuses on ensuring that proposed texts are as accurate as possible. It then acts as a liaison between the local groups that pay for and erect the markers and the fabricators.
Historical markers or, more frequently, monuments had been placed by various groups in the state for years. Women’s patriotic societies, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, were especially active, as were community preservationists who sought to promote local history. In launching their new historical marker program, the leaders of the fledgling AHA were careful to explain that they did not intend to supersede those traditional efforts, but they did seek to bring some standardization to the commemoration activities and to encompass the history of the entire state.
Toward this end, the AHA’s marker committee set about compiling lists of deserving sites, then composing texts and soliciting funds for the proposed signs. Creek War and Civil War sites figured prominently in the early selections, with early industrial sites and academic institutions recognized here and there. After a period of experimentation, the AHA settled on a standard design pattern for the markers by 1952. The post-mounted, double-faced cast aluminum plate displayed gold text contrasted against a deep blue background and featured the red and white Alabama state flag in the crest. The distinctive design remains the standard to this day.
The AHA’s marker committee no longer draws up lists of deserving sites, nor does it claim to be the final arbiter in determining if a site is “historic” enough to qualify for an AHA-sponsored marker. Reasoning that a local community can best decide what is of historical significance to the area, the committee focuses on ensuring that proposed texts are as accurate as possible. It then acts as a liaison between the local groups that pay for and erect the markers and the fabricators.
In 1948 an AHA-sponsored marker cost $90; today, the minimum price is $1,650.
Despite the escalating price, historical markers are more popular than ever. According to Sewah Studios, the nation’s largest maker of historical markers, business has never been better after more than eighty years in operation. While one might think that all the “important” sites have been commemorated with some type of marker, the public’s view of what constitutes “historical significance” continues to evolve. Diverse voices have challenged traditional views of what constitutes history, and they are seeking recognition for different types of past events and personalities. Many local governments and chambers of commerce also have embraced historical markers as tools for promoting both community cohesion and tourism. Churches, community centers, businesses, residences, and especially civil rights–era milestones increasingly are the subjects of AHA-sponsored markers.
In the run-up to America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, the state government initiated its own marker program under the auspices of the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), the agency responsible for preserving and interpreting state-owned historical sites. One of the AHC’s continuing tasks is to oversee state and national register recognition of historic places and structures deemed worthy of preservation. Sites added to either register are then eligible for an AHC-sponsored historical marker, which features the Alabama Great Seal in its crest.
While the AHC and the AHA have the only marker programs that seek to embrace the history of the entire state, the Historic Chattahoochee Commission began a regional historical marker program in 1978 to serve Alabama counties that border that eastern river. The program is conducted in cooperation with a sister organization representing the counties on the Georgia side of the Chattahoochee. All three organizations maintain websites to make their historical marker texts available online. These sites also include contact information and instructions for placing a marker.
The proliferation of historical marker programs attests to the continuing relevance of this form of historical promotion. The enduring popularity of this tangible way of honoring important moments in a community’s past also testifies to the vision of the founders of the Alabama Historical Association, who pioneered the effort.
This feature was previously publish in Issue 91, Winter 2009.
About the Author
Norwood A. Kerr has served as a research archivist with the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery since 1989. He has chaired the Alabama Historical Association’s historical marker committee for the last eighteen years, and he also teaches Alabama and world history courses at Auburn University in Montgomery.
In the run-up to America’s bicentennial celebration in 1976, the state government initiated its own marker program under the auspices of the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), the agency responsible for preserving and interpreting state-owned historical sites. One of the AHC’s continuing tasks is to oversee state and national register recognition of historic places and structures deemed worthy of preservation. Sites added to either register are then eligible for an AHC-sponsored historical marker, which features the Alabama Great Seal in its crest.
While the AHC and the AHA have the only marker programs that seek to embrace the history of the entire state, the Historic Chattahoochee Commission began a regional historical marker program in 1978 to serve Alabama counties that border that eastern river. The program is conducted in cooperation with a sister organization representing the counties on the Georgia side of the Chattahoochee. All three organizations maintain websites to make their historical marker texts available online. These sites also include contact information and instructions for placing a marker.
The proliferation of historical marker programs attests to the continuing relevance of this form of historical promotion. The enduring popularity of this tangible way of honoring important moments in a community’s past also testifies to the vision of the founders of the Alabama Historical Association, who pioneered the effort.
This feature was previously publish in Issue 91, Winter 2009.
About the Author
Norwood A. Kerr has served as a research archivist with the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery since 1989. He has chaired the Alabama Historical Association’s historical marker committee for the last eighteen years, and he also teaches Alabama and world history courses at Auburn University in Montgomery.
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