Alabama Front Porches: The official website for Alabama's Black Belt

Alabama Military Hall of Honor Museum

This building was built circa 1832 as a law office. It was the first YMCA building in the South to be owned by a local chapter. The building served as the Marion City Hall for forty years. In the late 1960s, it was moved from the courthouse  square to …

Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame

The Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame honors the achievements of outstanding women from Alabama. Established in 1970, the first women were inducted the following year. The AWHOF became a state agency by an act of the Alabama legislature in 1975. The museum …

Auburn Rural Studio’s Antioch Baptist Church

Shown is a small church in northwest Perry County, AL that was redesigned and rebuilt by four students from Auburn University’s Rural Studio at Newbern, AL. It was named among the top 100 best designs in the world by New York-based Metropolitan Home ma …

Coretta Scott King Memorial

Coretta Scott was born in Heiberger, Alabama and raised on the farm of her parents Bernice McMurry Scott, and Obadiah Scott, in Perry County, Alabama. She was exposed at an early age to the injustices of life in a segregated society. She walked five mi …

Ghost Trail

The Ghosts of the Black Belt: visit any town in Alabama and you will most likely hear a local ghost story. You will hear stories of civil war soldiers, haunted riverboats, spectral visitors at university campuses and many tales of apparitions that either met an early or unwarranted death. Learn more about our ghost stories and watch video interviews and tales.

Harry the Slave’s Gravesite

A servant to the president of Howard College (now Samford University), Harry gave his life saving students in an 1854 dormitory fire on the Howard campus. There is a monument in his honor in Marion City Cemetery. East Lafayette Street, Marion, AL 36756 …

Historic Downtown Marion

The five historic districts of Marion offer a connection to rich heritage including civil war and civil rights and many Alabama Baptist beginnings. Five historic bed and breakfasts provide lodging. Leisure activities available are arts and antique shop …

Holmestead Farms

Seven miles west of Marion, you may visit the site of one of Alabama’s last active plantations, one which has been in the same family since the early 1800s. William “the wagon maker” Moore came from South Carolina to Alabama in 1819 shortly before Alab …

Judson College

  Judson College, founded in 1838 in Marion, Alabama, (as Judson Female Institute), is the 6th oldest existing and only women’s four year college in Alabama. The college was founded by members of the Siloam Baptist Church of Marion and named after …

Lincoln Normal School

  The Lincoln Normal School was a historic African American school in Marion, Alabama. Lincoln Normal was founded in 1867 by freed slaves as a school for African-American children. In 1870, the school expanded to include teacher training and for a …

Marion Female Seminary Building

Founded in 1835, this was one of the earliest colleges for women in the United States. It was the first of four colleges established in Marion, AL. This building was erected in 1850. It contained the art studio of Nicola Marschall, a German-American ar …

Marion Military Institute

Marion Military Institute, as a school and college for young men, traces its origin back to 1842. During the Civil War, the Chapel and Lovelace Hall were used as Breckenridge Military Hospital, treating Confederate and Union soldiers. These facilities …

Old Marion Railway Depot

Built in 1907 to replace the frame depot building, which was destroyed by fire. Interest in railroads began as early as 1834 in Marion. The building is now the home of the Perry County Chamber of Commerce. Use this building as a convenient starting poi …

Perry County

Download our Hospitality Guide for Perry County Perry County from Southwest Alabama LoadingCenter mapTrafficBicyclingTransitMy locationGoogle MapsGet Directions Alabama Military Hall of Honor MuseumLocated in Perry County | What you’ll find: Historical …

Perry County: From the Classroom to the Farm

photo courtesy of Rural Southwest Alabama Tour Judson College – a historic women’s college: Notable buildings on campus include A. Howard Bean Hall, a Carnegie library which now houses the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame as well as classrooms. Alabama Wom …

Perry Lakes Park

The Perry Lakes Park and Wildlife Sanctuary along with Barton Beach Preserve contains about 800 acres available to the public for outdoor recreation, education, scientific research, and other activities. Interpretive nature trails (fire lanes and primi …

Smith Building Art Gallery

The Smith Building was built in 1880 and served Marion as a store for many years.  The building has since become an art gallery and houses a photography exhibit on Alabama’s Black Belt. The Smith Building also serves as the perfect space for downtown f …

The Green Street District

Take a walk through Marion’s history. The accompanying map (see below) and  details guide you through the West Marion Historic District. Be sure to explore all the historic districts in Marion: Marion Courthouse Square, Green Street, West Marion, and J …

Weekend Getaway to the Black Belt

Looking for a new place to explore? Visit one of the oldest and most historic parts of Alabama: the Black Belt of Southwest Alabama. There’s much to see and do–and it is close enough to make the trip with less than a tank of gas. Here’s a simple, one, …

Western Marion Historic District: An In-depth Exploration

In 1817, when the US government officially incorporated Alabama Territory, settlers flooded into this region, drawn by its forested hills, prairie grasslands, and rich Black Belt soil. They brought with them skills, values, and cultural institutions—in …