Named for Continental Army Major General Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain.

It replaced Tuscaloosa as the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast.

In addition to housing many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence, due to Maxwell Air Force Base.

This civilization had numerous chiefdoms throughout the Midwest and South along the Mississippi and its tributaries, and had built massive earthwork mounds as part of their society about 950–1250 AD.

[11] The first Europeans to travel through central Alabama were Hernando de Soto and his expedition, who in 1540 recorded going through Ikanatchati and camping for one week in Towassa.

Beginning February 4, 1861, representatives from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina met in Montgomery, host of the Southern Convention,[17] to form the Confederate States of America.

[21] In the post-World War II era, returning African-American veterans were among those who became active in pushing to regain their civil rights in the South: to be allowed to vote and participate in politics, to freely use public places, to end segregation.

"[10] African Americans comprised most of the customers on the city buses, but were forced to give up seats and even stand in order to make room for whites.

Local civil rights leaders in Selma had been protesting Jim Crow laws and practices that raised barriers to blacks registering to vote.

Following the shooting of a man after a civil rights rally, the leaders decided to march to Montgomery to petition Governor George Wallace to allow free voter registration.

On February 7, 1967, a devastating fire broke out at Dale's Penthouse, a restaurant and lounge on the top floor of the Walter Bragg Smith apartment building (now called Capital Towers) at 7 Clayton Street downtown.

Today Union Station is part of the Riverfront Park development, which includes an amphitheater, a riverboat dock,[31] a river walk, and Riverwalk Stadium.

A Scotsman, Georgie Laurie named the area for Dál Riata, a 6th-7th century Gaelic overkingdom; a subsequent misspelling in an advertisement led to the current spelling.

Following those developments, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested by private companies that have adapted old warehouses and office buildings into loft apartments, restaurants, retail, hotels, and businesses.

Additionally, Montgomery has recently opened a 50 million dollar white water park on July 7, located off Maxwell Boulevard.

Severe thunderstorms – producing large hail and damaging winds in addition to the usual hazards of lightning and heavy rain – can occasionally occur, particularly during the spring.

Sometimes, tropical disturbances – some of which strike the Gulf Coast as hurricanes before losing intensity as they move inland – can bring very heavy rains.

Montgomery's central location in Alabama's Black Belt has long made it a processing hub for commodity crops such as cotton, peanuts, and soybeans.

[60] Due to its location along the Alabama River and extensive rail connections, Montgomery has been and continues to be a regional distribution hub for a wide range of industries.

At the federal level, Montgomery is part of Alabama's 2nd, 7th, and 3rd Congressional district, currently represented by Barry Moore, Terri Sewell, and Mike Rogers, respectively.

Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 18 murders, 9 forcible rapes, 141 robberies and 354 aggravated assaults, while 562 burglaries, 1,773 larceny-thefts, 301 motor vehicle thefts and 0 acts of arson defined the property offenses.

The W. A. Gayle Planetarium, operated by Troy University, is one of the largest in the southeast United States and offers tours of the night sky and shows about current topics in astronomy.

Huntingdon College participates at the NCAA Division III level and Faulkner University is a member of the NAIA and is a nearby rival of AUM.

Several successful professional athletes hail from Montgomery, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Bart Starr[94] and two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field Alonzo Babers.

[104] The public Troy University maintains a 3,000 student population campus in downtown Montgomery that houses the Rosa Parks Library and Museum.

Montgomery is served by seven local television stations: WNCF 32 (ABC), WSFA 12 (NBC), WCOV 20 (Fox), WBMM 22 (CW), WAIQ 26 (PBS), WMCF-TV 45 (TBN), WFRZ-LD 33 (Religious and Educational).

DirecTV and Dish Network provide direct broadcast satellite television including both local and national channels to area residents.

The Montgomery area is served by eight AM radio stations: WMSP, WMGY, WZKD, WTBF, WGMP, WAPZ, WLWI, and WXVI; and nineteen FM stations: WJSP, WAPR, WELL, WLBF, WTSU, WVAS, WLWI, WXFX, WQKS, WWMG, WVRV, WJWZ, WBAM, WALX, WHHY, WMXS, WHLW, WZHT, and WMRK.

It serves primarily as an Air National Guard base and for general aviation, but commercial airlines fly to regional connections to Atlanta, Dallas–Fort Worth and Charlotte.

[118] According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 84.3% of working city of Montgomery residents commuted by driving alone, 8.8% carpooled, 0.4% used public transportation, and 0.6% walked.