Special Feature
The American Village in Montevallo will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. When it opened its gates for the first time on November 30, 1999, only four buildings existed: Washington Hall, inspired by George Washington’s Mount Vernon; the Courthouse, modeled after Colonial Williamsburg’s Courthouse of 1770; Founders Hall, which served as the first administrative building for American Village staff; and the original Barn that remained from the time when the 188-acre campus was a working cattle farm.
Today you will find more than 20 buildings on the American Village’s campus, all inspired by some of our Nation’s most iconic and cherished historic sites. Replicas of the President’s Oval Office and the East Room of The White House; a Colonial Chapel reminiscent of Bruton Parish Church of Williamsburg; Concord Bridge, which spans a one and a half-acre lake; the National Veterans Shrine, patterned after Philadelphia’s Carpenters Hall; and Independence Hall West Wing are but a few of the additions to this unique place. But the American Village is not about its buildings, but rather it is about building in the hearts and minds of young people and adult alike a sense of stewardship of what George Washington called “the sacred fire of liberty.” Here, nationally acclaimed and richly immersive programs engage 40,000 K-12 students annually in discovering America’s stories of independence, liberty and self-government. Since opening in 1999, the American Village has served well over 750,000 school students from five Southeastern states, and at least that number of adult visitors.
The goals of the American Village today are the same as they were twenty-five years ago. These goals include teaching you the vital lessons of liberty and remembering the price of liberty and honoring those who have paid it. The American Village was created to combat a growing national amnesia of our Nation’s founding and to help Americans discover the timeless relevance of the principles of equality, inherent rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the foundations of self-government by consent of the governed. On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence. As this milestone approaches, the American Village is endeavoring to help prepare a new generation of citizens and leaders to lead and serve the country. To learn more about the American Village, visit www.americanvillage.org. †
