Montevallo’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Montevallo. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The area where Montevallo is now was controlled by the Creek Indians. After being acquired in 1814, Jesse Wilson claimed a small hill on the northern bank of Wilson's Creek by the present Montevallo City Cemetery and created a homestead there, making it the oldest settlement in Shelby County. Wilson's friends and family followed afterwards and also settled in the area, and a settlement known as Wilson's Hill developed on the site. The settlement's location at almost the exact center of Alabama meant it was considered one of the potential sites for the University of Alabama. In an attempt to encourage the university to choose the site the settlement changed its name to Montevallo, which is Italian for the hill in the valley.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Montevallo’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Montevallo’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewEXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHEAST …, 1933: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Montevallo, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as EXTERIOR VIEW, LOOKING NORTHEAST - Main Street (Commercial Streetscapes) (1933) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.