Selma Attractions

National Voting Rights Museum and Institute highlights the struggle for voting rights from the 1600s to the Voting Rights Act in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. African-American political figures are featured after Blacks secured the right to vote. Other figures who made history through their participation in the voting rights movement include Viola Liuzzo and Marie Foster.

Cahawba, near Selma, was Alabama's state capital from 1802 to 1826. Archeological finds as well as photographs of the homes and businesses that once graced Old Cahawba are on display. Visitors can walk the abandoned streets to view the columns and chimneys that mark old houses, while interpretive signs mark streets and buildings.

Exhibits at the Old Depot Museum allow visitors to step back in time. Exhibits include such things as a railroad boxcar to the black pins worn by the 19th C ladies in their mourning dress. Other displays include antique fire trucks, Civil War artifacts and African-American history.

Smitherman Historic Building in Selma was built in 1847 by the Selma Masonic Order. The building has served as a hospital, courthouse and Military Institute. Smitherman Historic Building now houses the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum featuring period furniture, displays from the Civil War and other items depicting the history of Selma. The landscaped grounds surround the building with brick walkways, fountains and murals from the Battle of Selma.

Sturdivant Hall, built in 1852, is a Greek Revival Neo-Classical antebellum mansion located in Selma. Tours include the house, detached kitchen, gift shop and formal garden. Period furniture, toys, portraits and other household items are displayed throughout the house.