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

High Red Bluff

(Chunnanugga Chatty in Creek Indian Language)

Photographed by Anita C. Nyambo, July 3, 2010

1. High Red Bluff Marker

Inscription. Also called Hostile Bluff or Thirteen Mile Bluff, this spot located in a deep bend of the Alabama River was once the key to the Southeast and a strategic point in Colonial days. The first steamboat, the Harriet, arrived at this point in 1821, and the first railroad came in 1880, making Montgomery a transportation hub for people and commerce. When cotton was king, millions of bales were shipped from the wharf here by steam boat to Mobile and thence to the mills of England. The tunnel under the railroad tracks was built in 1879 so that horse-drawn wagons of cotton could be brought to the wharf without crossing the tracks.

Erected 1989 by The Society of Pioneers of Montgomery on the 170th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the City of Montgomery.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Notable Places • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1821.

Location. 32° 22.926′ N, 86° 18.795′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It can be reached from the intersection of Riverfront Park and Water Street. Marker has been moved to bluff near the silos. Coordinates have been updated. 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

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other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Montgomery's Panel Project (a few steps from this marker); Major Charles W. Davis, Infantry United States Army / "Above and Beyond" (within shouting distance of this marker); Struggle For Colonial Empire (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Domestic Slave Trade / Slave Transportation to Montgomery (about 300 feet away); Montgomery (about 400 feet away); Encanchata (about 400 feet away); Transportation and Commerce (about 400 feet away); Train Shed 1897 (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, May 24, 2023

2. High Red Bluff Marker

In its current location on the bluff.

High Red Bluff Marker-previous location image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Anita C. Nyambo, July 3, 2010

3. High Red Bluff Marker-previous location

The Riverboat Harriott II is seen in the background

Credits. This page was last revised on May 31, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 27, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,491 times since then and 53 times this year. Last updated on July 25, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1. submitted on August 27, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. 2. submitted on May 31, 2023, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on August 27, 2010, by Dodson M. Curry of Birmingham, Alabama. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.