Alabama Celebrates A Legend With Hank Williams Trail, by Melody Schubert

Alabama's Southern Charm and attractions draw visitors back each year. From festivals to the Hank Williams Trail, where you can learn more about this legendary musicians, there's plenty to explore throughout the state.

 Williams was born in rural Alabama in 1923, and died at the age of 29 while en route to an out-of-state performance. During his short lifetime, he wrote and recorded a string of hit songs which are still recorded by artists around the world today. Now travelers can visit sites where Hank grew up, attended church, sold peanuts as a boy, gave his first public performances, and more in the 20-page brochure, produced by ABTT Assistant Art Director Tommy Cauthen.

Among the destinations to discover along the Hank Williams Trail are the Hank Williams Boyhood Home in Georgiana, the Baptist Church in Mount Olive where Hank sang as a child, the Ritz Theater in Greenville where he performed, the Andalusia garage where he married Audrey, and the cabin at Kowaliga on Lake Martin where he composed the song about the famous wooden Indian. There are several sites in Montgomery are highlighted, including the Hank Williams Museum, City Hall where his funeral was held and the Oakwood Cemetery Annex where he is buried.

 ABTT Director Lee Sentell said his agency produced the brochure because the Alabama artist had a tremendous impact on American music. “His music spoke to common people whose voice had not been widely heard before Hank came along,” Sentell said. “Williams’s music expressed their everyday struggles, sorrows and joy.”

Plan Your Trip

Download the Hank Williams Trail Brochure.

To learn more about Alabama's Civil Rights history and trails, and to plan you memorable trip visit these links Montgomery Area Visitor Center call (334) 262-00l3, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce call (334) 834-5200 or visit www.montgomerychamber.com, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitor Bureau call (334) 26l-ll00 or (800) 240-9452, and go online to www.visitingmontgomery.com.

 To explore events and attractions in Alabama visit http://www.alabama.travel/