Main Hall at the University of Montevallo; Courtesy: Avry Zow

By: Avry Zow

Has Siri ever led you one way when your suppose to go the other; or had a friend that wasn’t so good with directions drag you to the middle of nowhere. 

Well, you’re not alone, geographical locations can be tricky and one of the trickiest is the center of Alabama.

Star on the steps of Main Hall; Courtesy: Avry Zow

Visitors of the University of Montevallo commonly come across the women’s dormitory, Main Hall, and believe it to be the center of Alabama with a star placed on the step to signify its geographical location.

Plaque made to tell visitors of the centers proximity; Courtesy: Avry Zow

If they look closer, however, they would have noticed the plaque above the star signifying that it is actually “nearby” the center of Alabama. 

University of Montevallo’s Archive & Special Collections Librarian/Professor, Carey Heatherly, explained how the star, despite its inaccuracy, became a sign of pride for the university.

“The star on Main Hall wasn’t put up there until the 70’s. There was something special about having these traditions go on. So Montevallo,for years, claimed to be the center of the state. I think Dr. Thomas Palmer was the president of the school up to twenty-six had even lobbied the U.S. geodetic survey to come stand on the steps of Main Hall and do their measurement,” said Heatherly.

Upon inspection, true coordinates placed led to Reynolds Cemetery, located still in Montevallo. However in 1953, Congress passed the Submerged Land Act which moved the center from Reynolds Cemetery to Clanton County.

Supposed center of Alabama at Reynolds Cemetery; Courtesy: Avry Zow

Nevertheless, Montevallo Chamber of Commerce in 1955 made a monument of stone in Reynolds Cemetery claiming it still as the “center” of Alabama.

Heatherly explains, “Again, those type of things to pull you in… was a huge deal back then. One of those selling points was being the center of the state.”

The coordinates for the mark in Clanton County are 86°38′W 32°50.5′N. Yet, Clanton County never established an official marker. So, when individuals look up where the center is, the most common response the internet will give them is the cemetery as it has been officially marked. 

So what does Heatherly think about the historical connection of Montevallo’s most ongoing tale of the center.

“I view it in the same way I view the ghost stories. You would never let the truth get in the way of a good story,” said Heatherly.