Selma in Dallas County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Highlights of Selma History / William Rufus DeVane King 1786-1853
Photographed By Tim & Renda Carr, November 6, 2010
1. Highlights of Selma History
Inscription.
Highlights of Selma History, also, William Rufus DeVane King 1786-1853. .
Highlights of Selma History. Dallas County was created by Territorial Legislature Feb. 9, 1818. Selma Land Company formed Mar. 19, 1819 by George Phillips, William Rufus King, Jesse Beene, Gilbert Shearer and Caleb Tate. Selma incorporated Dec. 4, 1820. LaFayette visited 1825. First newspaper established 1827. Dallas County Male and Female Academy incorporated 1845 - was forerunner of public school system. Selma Arsenal and Confederate Naval Yard established 1862. Battle of Selma won by Union forces and most of the city burned 1865. First non-rail bridge over Alabama River opened 1885. Both U.S. Senators, Morgan and Pettus, were from Selma 1897-1907. Craig Field established 1940. Civil Rights demonstrations in 1965 culminated in Selma to Montgomery march which influenced passage of 1965 Civil Rights Act. ,
William Rufus DeVane King 1786-1853 Vice President of the United States. William Rufus DeVane King was born April 7, 1786 in Sampson Co., N.C.; admitted to the bar in 1806; served in the N.C. House of Commons 1807-1809; U.S. Congress 1811-1816; and as Secretary of the U.S. Legation to Naples and St. Petersburg 1816-1818. , He moved to Dallas Co., Alabama in 1818; named and was a founder of the City of Selma; a delegate to the 1819 State Constitutional Convention; U.S. Senator 1819-1844 and 1848-1852; U.S. Minister to France 1844-1846; and President Pro tempore U.S. Senate 1836-1841 and 1850-1852. , King was elected Vice President in 1852 and because of his poor health traveled to Cuba. By a Special Act of Congress he was permitted to take the oath of office in Matanzas, Cuba on March 24, 1853. His health did not improve and he returned to Alabama where he died April 18, 1853 at his King’s Bend Plantation.
Highlights of Selma History
Dallas County was created by Territorial Legislature Feb. 9, 1818. Selma Land Company formed Mar. 19, 1819 by George Phillips, William Rufus King, Jesse Beene, Gilbert Shearer and Caleb Tate. Selma incorporated Dec. 4, 1820. LaFayette visited 1825. First newspaper established 1827. Dallas County Male and Female Academy incorporated 1845 - was forerunner of public school system. Selma Arsenal and Confederate Naval Yard established 1862. Battle of Selma won by Union forces and most of the city burned 1865. First non-rail bridge over Alabama River opened 1885. Both U.S. Senators, Morgan and Pettus, were from Selma 1897-1907. Craig Field established 1940. Civil Rights demonstrations in 1965 culminated in Selma to Montgomery march which influenced passage of 1965 Civil Rights Act.
William Rufus DeVane King
1786-1853
Vice President of the United States
William Rufus DeVane King was born April 7, 1786 in Sampson Co., N.C.; admitted to the bar in 1806; served in the N.C. House of Commons 1807-1809; U.S. Congress 1811-1816; and as Secretary of the U.S. Legation to Naples and St. Petersburg 1816-1818.
He moved to Dallas Co., Alabama in 1818; named and was a founder of the City of Selma; a delegate to the 1819 State Constitutional
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Convention; U.S. Senator 1819-1844 and 1848-1852; U.S. Minister to France 1844-1846; and President Pro tempore U.S. Senate 1836-1841 and 1850-1852.
King was elected Vice President in 1852 and because of his poor health traveled to Cuba. By a Special Act of Congress he was permitted to take the oath of office in Matanzas, Cuba on March 24, 1853. His health did not improve and he returned to Alabama where he died April 18, 1853 at his King’s Bend Plantation.
Erected 1981 by Alabama Historical Commission / Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society.
Location. 32° 24.589′ N, 87° 1.255′ W. Marker is in Selma, Alabama, in Dallas County. Marker is on Broad Street (U.S. 80), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 222 Broad St, Selma AL 36702, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. An additional William R. King Marker and gravesite.
Photographed By Tim & Renda Carr, November 6, 2010
3. Highlights of Selma History / William Rufus DeVane King 1786-1853 Marker
Photographed By Tim & Renda Carr, November 6, 2010
4. Highlights of Selma History / William Rufus DeVane King 1786-1853 Marker
Marker stands in front of Selma's City Hall.
Photographed By Tim & Renda Carr, November 6, 2010
5. Looking South Along Broad Street (U.S. Highway 80)
Photographed By Tim & Renda Carr, November 6, 2010
6. Looking North Along Broad Street (U.S. Highway 80)
Public domain
7. William Rufus DeVane King
Engraved by W. H. Dougal after a Daguerreotype by Whitehurst, 1854. from Obituary Addresses on the Occasion of the Death of the Hon. William R. King, of Alabama, Vice President of the United States - United States 33d Congress, 1st session, 1853-1854.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 3, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 7, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,940 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on November 7, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 8, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 7. submitted on January 1, 2021, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
