Selma, Alabama is the Butterfly Capital of Alabama.

In 1989, the Alabama State Legislature designated Selma the "Butterfly Capital of Alabama." The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is Alabama's butterfly mascot.

POINTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE UNIQUENESS OF SELMA, ALABAMA Alabama has had five state capitals and one of these was in Dallas County. Seventeen miles from Selma, Cahawba is located on the bank of the Alabama River. Selma produced one of our country's vice presidents, William Rufus King, the only one from Alabama. There have been eight great senators from Alabama and three of these men were from Selma: William Rufus King, Edmund Pettus and John Tyler Morgan. There are four historic cemeteries in the state and one of these, Old Live Oak, is located in Selma on Dallas Avenue. There are four historic commercial districts in the state and Selma has one of them. Selma's historic district is the largest in the state with over 1,250 structures, and the second oldest. There are eight pre-Civil War grist mills in the state and one of these, Kenan's Mill, built around 1825, is located in Selma. There are eight outstanding Greek Revival homes in Alabama one of which is Selma's magnificent Sturdivant Hall.

 The St. James Hotel on Water Avenue, where Jesse James once stayed, was built in 1837. It is the only existing example of early river hotels in the state and the oldest still standing in Selma. There are only ten or twelve railroad depots of architectural significance in the state and one of these, The Old Depot, is in Selma. Of the nine Bishops and Assistant Bishops that have served the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, five have been elected and/or consecrated in Dallas County. Former home of the Selma Navy Yard and the Ordnance Works, destroyed in 1865, was second only to the one in Richmond, VA. Its commander, Catesby ap R. Jones, who later was captain of the Merrimac, settled here and his family remains here today. Some of the largest cannons (the Brooke Cannon) were built in Selma. Selma is the birthplace of the Voting Rights Act. The first African American U.S. Congressman, Benjamin Sterling Turner, was from Selma. Selma, Alabama Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Office 912 Selma Avenue Selma, AL 36701 1-800-45-SELMA (73562) www.SelmaAlabama.com