When the red-brick, twin-towered Brown Chapel was built by black builder AJ Farley in 1908, congregants could not have guessed that their church would play a crucial role in the Civil Rights struggle. In 1965, activists gathered here as it was the departure point for those undertaking the march to Montgomery. You can visit the church and peek inside, but keep in mind this is a working, practicing house of worship; dress and act accordingly.
Brown Chapel
Alabama
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.54 MILES
Few sites are as iconic to the American Civil Rights movement as the Pettus Bridge. On March 7, 1965, a crowd prepared to march to Montgomery to…
28.32 MILES
The African American quilt makers of Gee's Bend – officially, Boykin, AL – are the inheritors of a tradition that has been recognized as one of the nation…
Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
8.18 MILES
This eerie ghost town, faded by time and jungly overgrowth, was once the capital of Alabama. By the 20th century, Cahawba was abandoned, and today its…
0.45 MILES
This museum, near the north side of the Pettus Bridge, has a small interpretive center that fleshes out the history and narrative of the Jim Crow South,…
Lowndes County Interpretive Center
19.44 MILES
Marking the rough halfway point on the marching route between Selma and Montgomery, this center presents small, solid exhibitions that delve into the…
0.72 MILES
This museum, located near the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, tells the tale of the Selma to Montgomery march, and includes exhibits on women's suffrage…
0.4 MILES
This enormous red-brick synagogue once housed a thriving local Jewish community. Many of the members of said community have left the South, but…
0.42 MILES
This small, pleasant park is a good spot for a walk and to take in views of the Alabama River and Pettus Bridge.
Nearby Alabama attractions
1. Ancient Africa Enslavement Civil War Museum
0.34 MILES
This companion to the National Voting Rights Museum has displays on African history and the slave trade. Like its affiliate institution, this museum is a…
0.4 MILES
This enormous red-brick synagogue once housed a thriving local Jewish community. Many of the members of said community have left the South, but…
0.42 MILES
This small, pleasant park is a good spot for a walk and to take in views of the Alabama River and Pettus Bridge.
0.45 MILES
This museum, near the north side of the Pettus Bridge, has a small interpretive center that fleshes out the history and narrative of the Jim Crow South,…
0.54 MILES
Few sites are as iconic to the American Civil Rights movement as the Pettus Bridge. On March 7, 1965, a crowd prepared to march to Montgomery to…
6. National Voting Rights Museum
0.72 MILES
This museum, located near the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, tells the tale of the Selma to Montgomery march, and includes exhibits on women's suffrage…
7. Old Cahawba Archaeological Park
8.18 MILES
This eerie ghost town, faded by time and jungly overgrowth, was once the capital of Alabama. By the 20th century, Cahawba was abandoned, and today its…
8. Lowndes County Interpretive Center
19.44 MILES
Marking the rough halfway point on the marching route between Selma and Montgomery, this center presents small, solid exhibitions that delve into the…