Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Alabama River: The Grand Avenue

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, May 26, 2023

1. Alabama River: The Grand Avenue Marker

Inscription. Twelve miles above Montgomery the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers unite to form the Alabama which meanders over four hundred miles on its way to Mobile Bay. This river has played major role in region's history, being a thoroughfare for Native Americans, European explorers, and Americans who settled along its fertile shores and used it as a means of getting cotton to Mobile and world markets. Ferries served the population until the building of Tyler Goodwyn and Reese's Ferry bridges in the first quarter of twentieth century. As Interstate required new traffic patterns, Northern By - pass bridges opened in 1972 and I-65 bridges (To the West) the following year.

Erected 1995 by City of Montgomery.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1972.

Location. 32° 22.845′ N, 86° 18.898′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from Water Street west of Whitman Street, on the right when traveling west. Now located on the Riverfront, behind Union Station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Montgomery AL 36104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

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are within walking distance of this marker: Europeans Along the Alabama River (within shouting distance of this marker); Return from the Argonne (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Train Shed 1897 (about 300 feet away); Transportation and Commerce (about 300 feet away); Montgomery (about 300 feet away); Rainbow Soldier (about 400 feet away); The Domestic Slave Trade / Slave Transportation to Montgomery (about 600 feet away); Struggle For Colonial Empire (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Additional commentary.
1. Marker missing/removed.
The Overlook Park was renovated and is now called Wright Brothers Park. Most of the markers went missing or were removed

— Submitted December 5, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, May 26, 2023

2. Alabama River: The Grand Avenue Marker

In its new location

Gees Bend on the Alabama River image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, October 25, 1987

3. Gees Bend on the Alabama River

Gees Bend is located in Wilcox County between Montgomery and Mobile, Alabama.

Interstate 65 Bridge crossing the Alabama River. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Carr, August 1, 2009

4. Interstate 65 Bridge crossing the Alabama River.

Parks where Alabama River: The Grand Avenue Marker went missing. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2015

5. Parks where Alabama River: The Grand Avenue Marker went missing.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 18, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,513 times since then and 46 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 31, 2023, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3, 4. submitted on January 18, 2010, by Timothy Carr of Birmingham, Alabama. 5. submitted on December 5, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.