Shelby, AL

Alabama National Cemetery


Latitude	33° 08' 02" N
Longitude	86° 50' 45" W
Elevation	456/139
Interments	~4,500
NRHP Reference #	#86003757

3133 Highway 119 Shelby County Montevallo, AL 35115 Phone: 205-665-9039 FAX: 205-665-7790

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Dept. of Veteran Affairs Office Hours: Open Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Alabama National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Montevallo, Alabama, 15 miles south of Birmingham, Alabama. It encompasses 479 acres (194 ha), and was projected to begin interments on June 25, 2009.

The Mobile National Cemetery was closed to interments in the 1990s. The other Alabama site is Fort Mitchell National Cemetery near Phenix City, 150 miles southeast. The Veterans Administration was authorized to establish six new burial sites by the National Cemetery Act of 2003. Areas not served by an existing National Cemetery and containing at least 170,000 veteran residents included Bakersfield, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Sarasota County, Florida; southeastern Pennsylvania and Columbia- Greenville, South Carolina.

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

With the passage of the National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, Congress directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish six new national cemeteries in areas with at least 170,000 residents not currently served by burial locations for veterans, including central Alabama.

At the time NCA purchased the site of Alabama National Cemetery, the property was used for agricultural purposes. Alabama National Cemetery was formally dedicated in 2008, and opened for burials the following year. Alabama National Cemetery is the third national cemetery built in the state and the 129th in the national cemetery system. The first burials commenced on June 25, 2009.

In 2011, Alabama National Cemetery completed construction of the cemetery support facilities including the Public Information Center, main entrance with Avenue of Flags, memorial wall with flag circle, offices and maintenance facilities, columbarium, committal shelters, and memorial walkway. The design and layout received an honor award from the Alabama Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Prior to development and use as a national cemetery, the land had a long and culturally-varied history. During the Colonial period the Muskogee tribe, also known as the Creeks, lived in central Alabama. By the early 19th century, European-American encroachment led to a division within the Creek society between a partially-assimilated faction, and those that sought to return to their traditional culture and religion. Tensions culminated in the Creek War (1813-1814) which began as a tribal civil war but became intertwined with the War of 1812 when the U.S. government allied with the assimilated Creeks. The Creek War ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which ceded much of the tribal territory in Georgia and Alabama to the United States.