Alabama Scavenger Hunt
Alabama, a state where the story of America beats with a deeper rhythm. Here in the Heart of Dixie, history is never far away—etched into red clay roads, humming from gospel porches, carved into courthouse steps, and stitched through cotton fields. Alabama is contradiction and convergence, a land where old truths and new reckonings are forever entwined.
From the towering Moundville earthworks to the soaring Saturn V rockets of Huntsville, from Native footpaths to iron railroads and steel-clad battleships, the state has long punched above its weight in shaping the nation’s path. Alabama gave rise to titans of music and motorsport, of movement and modern design. It has birthed revolutions both technological and social—from the stifled bus seat in Montgomery that sparked global change, to the fretboards and mixing boards of Muscle Shoals where Black and white musicians made transcendent art, together.
This scavenger hunt will take you through more than two centuries of statehood—and many millennia more of cultural legacy. You’ll meet inventors and outlaws, civil rights pioneers and moonshot engineers, world-record sprinters and wordsmiths of the South. You’ll stand on sacred grounds and sites of struggle, feel the pulse of preservation and progress, and maybe even pause at a roadside barbecue joint that tastes like a dream.
So open your eyes wide and your ears wider. Alabama has stories to tell. And now, so do you.
The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Alabama uniquely Alabama. Why did the citizens of Enterprise erect a statue os South American insect? Solved. Why were Alabamians Hank Aaron and Willie Mays not teammates in the major leagues? A mystery no more. What was the first American coin to feature braille text? Identified. Who was the first college football coach to man the sidelines in a stadium named for him? Revealed. Why did the Mississippian culture disappear? No one knows.
The island shrank, the waters rose, But still that lonely beacon glows. Blown up, rebuilt, replaced once more, It marked the mouth of Mobile’s shore. Now just a stump on granite bed— Its keepers gone, its purpose shed.
No torch from Sherman felled these stones— It was the ore, not war, that groans. Yet tales endure of battles near, Of Forrest’s trap and Yankee fear. A cold stack now, but forged with pride— The South’s own iron at its side.
France dreamed a track that tore the air— A roaring loop past sane repair. At 200, wheels could fly— And Bobby Allison touched the sky. Now plates restrict the roaring chase— But Dega still sets hearts to race.
The Showplace of the South took stage With terra cotta, screen, and page. A cool-air palace in roaring time With silent reels and organ chime. Revived, it shines in grandeur's glow— A reel of dreams from long ago.
A fish camp bloomed by Bessie’s hand, With azaleas brushed across the land. A garden vast, a Coke king’s grace, In bloom became a public place. Through tiles and trails the blossoms roam— Alabama’s sweetest garden home.
Where five-and-dimes were dressed in gold, And art met commerce, brave and bold. With twin façades—one Deco’s dream, One Doric, carved in classic theme. Sam Kress sold goods and gifted grace— A palace store in every place.