ALABAMA | GEORGIA | LOUISIANA | MISSISSIPPI | TENNESSEE

Alabama
Birmingham
When coal, iron ore and limestone – the ingredients for making iron and steel – were found beneath its soil in the late 19th century, Birmingham quickly grew from a small farming town into the South’s foremost industrial centre. Money flowed and thousands came to get rich earning Birmingham the moniker of the “Magic City”. The city’s fortunes declined with the steel industry in the 1960s at a time when racial tensions were smoldering. Birmingham became a focal point of the Civil Rights struggle and today that story is told in vivid detail at the Civil Rights Institute and in sculptures at Kelly Ingram Park.

Montgomery
In 1861 gallant Southern politicians gathered at the State Capitol in Montgomery and formed the Confederate States of America. The telegram starting the American Civil War was sent from Montgomery. Almost 100 years later Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus and the modern Civil Rights struggle in America was born. Just one block from the State Capitol was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s first church as pastor. You can tour both his church and home.

Mobile
Location of the first capital of the Louisiana Territory by the French, Mobile’s downtown reflects the past with famous architecture, fabulous food and Southern hospitality. Mobile is the home of America’s first Mardi Gras, which is still celebrated today. Mobile is also rich in American Civil War history. A few miles north is Blakeley Historical Park where a contingent of 20,000 men fought the last major battle of the Civil War.


Georgia
Warm Springs
New Yorker Franklin Delano Roosevelt first arrived in Warm Springs in 1924, seeking treatment for his polio-related paralysis. Convinced that the minerals in the natural springs eased his suffering, Roosevelt built a modest six-room cottage here in 1932, the same year he was elected president. “The Little White House” served as his haven until his death here in 1945 and visitors can view the bungalow just as FDR left it, for nothing’s been changed – even the toilet paper is circa 1945.

Plains
Georgia’s favourite son is celebrated at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, where the former president and his wife still live today. Visitors can explore the more than two dozen Carter-related sites, including his family peanut farm, and learn about Carter’s Nobel Peace prize and his devotion to Habitat for Humanity dedicated to helping to those less fortunate in the world.

Andersonville
At this national historic site in the Southern Rivers region of Georgia, the most infamous Civil War prison confined some 45,000 Union soldiers during its 14 months in operation. Of these, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding and exposure to the elements. Today the 495-acre park serves as the only national memorial to all American Prisoners-of-War, from the Revolutionary War to the present.


Louisiana
Cotton Road and River Road Plantations
Along the Red River and the Mississippi River lived 80% of America’s millionaires at the time of the Civil War. Stately cotton mansions in the north and sugar cane plantations in the south transport you back to a different era. Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase, is the centre of the Cotton Road plantations. Within an hour is Frogmore Cotton Plantation & Gins, a working plantation. The tallest state capitol building in the USA is a must-see in Baton Rouge.

Cajun Country
Lafayette, Lake Charles and Houma-Thibodaux are the beating heart of Louisiana’s Cajun Country. You can still hear French being spoken in this area, which was settled mainly by Acadians from Canada and isolated until World War II. Visit two living history museums and learn about the origins of Acadian culture and how the Cajuns integrated themselves into Louisiana’s mixed culture. Because of the wetlands, this is the centre of Louisiana’s boatbuilding, fishing and oilfield industries.

New Orleans
Sometimes called America’s most interesting city, New Orleans has a rich history that matches its idiosyncrasies. Established by the French in the early 1700s, ruled by Spain from 1763-1800, then by Napoleon, then by the fledgling US government, it is no surprise that New Orleans’ layers of history are so intriguing. Once America’s second-richest city, and still the largest port, New Orleans is the gateway to the country’s grain, coal, and energy supplies. Visit The Historic New Orleans Collection, the National World War II museum, and the living history to see the influence that New Orleans has had on the history of the US.


Mississippi
Vicksburg
The history, charm and character of the Mississippi River flow through Vicksburg - setting an easygoing pace and cheery lifestyle. It seems the river has always drawn folks to Vicksburg - not the least of which were 70,000 Union troops during the Civil War. Union generals were so taken with the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy" they laid siege to Vicksburg for two months. Now the Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the siege line. Considered one of America's most beautiful memorials, its serene grounds serve as the final resting place for 17,000 Union soldiers. And 5,000 Confederates lie along their front line in the nearby city cemetery

Natchez
Natchez is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. The city surrendered to Union forces early in the war, and was spared much of the destruction suffered elsewhere. Over 500 antebellum structures line the streets of this charming old river city where, prior to the Civil War, more millionaires lived than anywhere else in the nation, with the possible exception of New York. Many of the mansions they built still stand as testimony to the opulent era of King Cotton and are open daily for tours.

Jackson
When arriving in Mississippi’s capital city you will discover an endless variety of historical sites and attractions. Housed in what was once Jackson’s first school for African-American children, the Smith Robertson Museum preserves the state’s African-American history inside and out. For a far more personal experience, visit the home of slain Civil Rights leader, Medger Evers, and feel inspired by one man’s courage. Be sure to see the Governor’s Mansion in the heart of downtown. It’s the second oldest continuously occupied gubernatorial residence in the US and is a National Historic Landmark.


Tennessee
Rugby
Amid the rugged grandeur of the Cumberland Mountains is the Victorian English village of Rugby. In 1880, social reformer and author, Thomas Hughes, established Rugby as a haven for younger sons of English gentry. Under Victorian custom, the eldest son inherited his fathers’ estate, compelling younger siblings into respectable professions such as law and medicine. Rugby allowed the disinherited to learn farming and other trades without social stigma. The experiment failed but the colony has endured and more than 20 original structures subtly recreate the era of Dickens and Queen Victoria.

Vonore
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Cherokee were the most powerful Indian tribe in the tri state region of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. The Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, owned and operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, presents Cherokee history and culture and the fascinating story of Sequoyah, the remarkable inventor of the Cherokee alphabet and publisher of their newspaper, The Phoenix.

Henning
Around 50 miles north of Memphis on Highway 51 is Henning, Tennessee and the boyhood home of Pulitzer-Prize winning author Alex Haley, whose book, Roots, became an international bestseller and launched a worldwide interest in genealogy. The Alex Haley House & Museum contains memorabilia, family artefacts and audiotapes of this master storyteller. The author is buried here and in the nearby cemetery are graves of famous ancestors such as Chicken George and Kizzie.

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