Happy Birthday, Alabama!!!
ALABAMA 200 is a three-year celebration of the people, places, and events that form our rich history. Between 2017 and 2019, ALABAMA 200 has interacted with residents and visitors in educational programs, community activities, and statewide initiatives that were created to teach, inspire, and entertain. The celebration will officially end on December 14th with special events scheduled throughout the state.
Come celebrate with us as Homewood Public Library will host events all December, ending with Happy 200th Birthday Alabama party on Saturday, December 14th!!!
Alabama Fast Facts
- Formed as a territory on March 3, 1817,and became the nation’s twenty-second state on December 14, 1819.
- The state was indirectly named after a southern Native American tribe that took up residence in central Alabama in the 1500s.
- Alabama is considered the first place to celebrate Mardi Gras. When the city of Mobile was founded in 1702, mystic societies called “krewes” held the gatherings.
- Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman is a four-acre dedication to famous holy monuments created by Brother Joseph Zoettl through 1958.
- Miss Baker became the first monkey to survive a space expedition in 1959; she buried in Huntsville, where people still leave bananas on her grave.
- The world’s first Electric Trolley System was introduced in Montgomery in 1886.
- In 1902 Dr. Luther Leonidas Hill performed the first open heart surgery in the Western Hemisphere by suturing a stab wound in a young boy’s heart. The surgery occurred in Montgomery.
- The star blue quartz is the state’s official gemstone.
Homewood Public Library: Alabama 200 Events for December 2019
December 4 Niki Sepsas Presents – Sweet Home Alabama: 200 Years of History-Wednesday, December 04: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Homewood – Round Auditorium
December 10 Jingle All the Way with Storyteller Dolores Hydock – & the Music of Bobby Horton – Friday, December 06: 6:30pm – 9:00pm Homewood – Large Auditorium
December 12 Book Signing with Ruth Cook – Author of “Magic in Stone: the Sylacauga Marble Story – Tuesday, December 10: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Homewood – Round Auditorium
December 13 Alabama Bicentennial – Tuxedo Junction: Alabama Contribution to American Jazz – Friday, December 13: 1:00pm – 2:00pm Homewood – Round Auditorium
December 14 Happy 200th Birthday Alabama – Saturday, December 14: 10:30am – 11:00am Homewood – Large Auditorium
