It contains eighteen contributing buildings, many of them in the Colonial Revival style, and one site.

[1][2] Alabama State University traces its beginnings to 1867, when former slaves Joey Pinch, Thomas Speed, Nickolas Dale, James Childs, Thomas Lee, John Freeman, Nathan Levert, David Harris, and Alexander H. Curtis founded a school for African Americans in Marion, Alabama.

[3] In 1887, the school moved to Montgomery, renamed the Alabama Colored Peoples University.

In the 1920s, additional land was purchased, and the state appropriated $50,000 for the construction of dormitories and dining facilities.

The majority of buildings within the historic district date from this mid-20th century period, 1916 through 1945.