FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Andi Martin, Marketing and Public Relations Manager  

andi.martin@ahc.alabama.gov, 334-230-2680

September 6, 2019

Saturday Walking Tour to be Held at Confederate Memorial Park

(Montgomery, AL) The Alabama Historical Commission and Confederate Memorial Park are pleased to announce a walking tour taking place on Saturday, September 14, beginning at 10:00 am.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, there were many Confederate veterans living in Alabama whose “wants cannot be supplied by means of pension funds … who have no homes, no families, no relatives, no friends, no money, or property and who are too feeble to work or earn a living.” Jefferson Manly Falkner, a Montgomery attorney and Confederate veteran, was determined that something more than just the payment of a meager state pension had to be done for his needy and disabled comrades-in-arms. Through his untiring efforts, the Alabama Confederate Soldiers’ Home, the state’s only facility for the care of indigent Confederate veterans, was established in the fall of 1901.

“A walking tour really helps people visualize the complexity of the Soldiers’ Home. The natural setting of Mountain Creek provided a home-like environment, but it was also modern in its design,” said Site Director Calvin Chappelle.

Spread over 102 acres of rolling wooded countryside near the center of the state, Confederate Memorial Park incorporates the site of Alabama’s only Confederate veterans’ home. Life for the old soldiers, called “inmates” at the Home, was better than most had known before their admission. The Home provided housing, meals, clothing, allowances, medical care, and for many, a place to die and be buried with dignity. Visitors will explore the locations and ruins of the original structures that once occupied the site, as well as a tour of one of the cemeteries and the park’s museum.

Walking Tour Tickets are $10 per person and can be paid at the site museum prior to the 10:00 am tour. Tour admission includes entry to the museum. Confederate Memorial Park opens at 9 am.

Confederate Memorial Park, a historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission, is located at 437 Co Rd 63, Marbury, AL 36051. 

To learn more about Confederate Memorial Park, or the Alabama Historical Commission, please visit www.ahc.alabama.gov.

About the Alabama Historical Commission

Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and, statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov.  

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