As early as 1912 efforts were made to embellish the area beneath the Capitol dome with a series of large murals depicting incidents in Alabama History. Not until 1926, however was work actually begun. In September of that year the newly formed Alabama Arts Commission endorsed the project and set aside $7,500 for the enterprise. Roderick MacKenzie, a Scottish-born artist then living in Mobile, was retained for the work. At the same time, the Colby Decorating Company of Birmingham was engaged to refurbish the surrounding wall area according to designs prepared by MacKenzie. The murals were executed on canvas at MacKenzie's Mobile studio, from which they were shipped to Montgomery by train. Installation was completed in July of 1930. Today the murals are as interesting for reflecting the way in which Alabama history was depicted in the early 20th century as for their intrinsic artistic merit.
Beginning on the southeast side of the rotunda and moving to the right, the themes fancifully portrayed by the murals are in chronological order:
"Hostile Meeting of Desoto, Spanish Explorer, and Tuscaloosa, Indian Chieftan-1540."
Hernando DeSoto's trek through what later became Alabama produced one of the first bloody encounters between aboriginal inhabitants and Europeans on North American soil. This was the Battle of Mauvila, in which not only Tuscaloosa but hundreds of his warriors were lost.
"French Establishing First White Colony in Alabama Under Iberville and Bienville, Mobile, 1702-1711."
The French colinizers of the Gulf coast around Mobile Bay were succeeded by the English and the Spanish. Finally, in 1813, the city of Mobile and the surrounding territory passed under the American Flag.
"Surrender of William Weatherford, Hostile Creek Leader to General Andrew Jackson-1814."
General Andrew Jackson meets the Creek chieftain at the Battle of Horshoe Bend in 1814. Andrew Jackson's defeat of the Creeks destroyed the strength of Alabama's most powerful group of native Americans and made their eventual expulsion inevitable. The site of the battle, which occurred where the Tallapoosa River makes a giant loop, is located near present-day Dadeville and is now a national park.
"Pioneer Home-Seekers Led Into The Alabama Wilderness by Sam Dale-1816."
Virginia-born Sam Dale (1772-1841) was a legendary figure on the southern Alabama frontier. A noted Indian fighter, Dale led parties of settlers into the Tombigbee River basin north of Mobile between 1800 and 1812.
"Governor William Wyatt Bibb and Committee Drafting The First State Constitution at Huntsville, 1819."
The flourishing town of Huntsville in extreme northern Alabama was selected as a temporary seat of government until a more central location could be determined. While the mural shows the setting to be a columned assembly hall, the convention actually convened in a carpenter's shop. (The shop was reconstructed in 1989 as the focal point of Constitution Hall Village.) The now- dead town of Cahawba became the first "permanent" seat of government, followed by Tuscaloosa. In 1847, the state capital was moved to Montgomery.
"Wealth and Leisure Produce the Golden Period of Antebellum Life in Alabama, 1840-1860."
As one of the largest cotton-producing states in the country, Alabama enjoyed increasing prosperity during the last two decades before the Civil War. This was the era that gave rise to the plantation legend which was full tide when Roderick MacKenzie painted this and the other rotounda murals.
"Secession and the Confederancy, Inauguration of President Jefferson Davis, 1861."
While this picture shows Davis standing on the portico of the Alabama State Capitol in a place now marked by a bronze star, contemporary newspaper accounts indicate that he was actually inaugurated on a specifically-constructed wooden platform in front of the steps. In May of 1861, the Confederate seat of Government was moved to Richmond, Virginia.
"Prosperity follows Development of Resources, Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, 1874-1930."
The decades after the Civil War saw the rise of the steel city of Birmingham and the development of northern Alabama's coal and iron resources to supplement the traditional agriculture base of the economy. The mural depicts bales of cotton being loaded for shipment to a mill against a backdrop of Birmingham blast furnaces.
The inside of the Dome provides an ideal top or crown for the murals.
For anyone interested, 8 x 10 Photographic prints of the 8 murals are now available.
A set of the 8 murals is $30.00.Shipping and handling is $4.00.
A set of the 8 murals photocopied as 11 x 17 is available for $20.00 including shipping and handling.
If you are interested send a check or purchase order to:
W. Raymond Jones
4419 Plummer Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36106
Orders may be placed via e-mail at:rayjones@knology.net.
In the lobby of the Capitol, the portraits of the following governors are hung in four different areas:
Forrest Hood James
Click here to hear Governor Fob James take the oath of office and learn about his record.
James Folsom Jr.
Click here to see and hear Governor James E. Folsom Jr. give a portion of his "State of The State Address" and learn about his record.
Lurleen Wallace
Governor Lurleen B. Wallace Click on her name to hear her talk about her feelings then read about her record as Governor.
