Foundation Aims To Transform Old Jail Into Tuscaloosa Civil Rights Museum

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail has become an increasingly popular fixture in the local tourism economy after its debut in 2019.

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As the foundation tasked with developing the trail eyes future growth and expansion, a central focus has been the development of a Tuscaloosa civil rights museum at the Old Tuscaloosa Jail on 6th Street.

Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History & Reconciliation Foundation Co-President Tim Lewis gave a broad overview to members of the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday regarding future plans for the trail and the proposed museum. As part of his presentation, he requested $150,000 in additional funding for the coming budget year for the city.

Lewis said the foundation aims to attract over 60,000 tourists to the area each year, in addition to working to K-12 educators on developing relevant curriculum that highlights local Civil Rights Era history.

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"We need to build up the whole civil rights tourism part of the state," he said during his presentation to the City Council's Finance Committee on Tuesday. "Right now, when people come to Alabama, they come to Birmingham, they come to Selma, they come to Montgomery. They don’t come to Tuscaloosa and we want to change that and we’re starting to change that … we have a story to tell."

Efforts on the horizon include expanding the 18-site historical trail to roughly double its current size, Lewis said, in addition to adding more staffing to support the various offerings.

The most ambitious project on the foundation's agenda, however, is the proposed civil rights museum at the Old Jail, which is adjacent to Capitol Park.

"[The Old Jail] had some specialist issues we have to deal with first," Lewis said. "But we're doing leg work to figure out what it would cost."

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Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the Old Jail was first built prior to the Civil War and served as a hotel until 1856 when it was converted into a new jail for the growing city.

The building has changed hands numerous times during its history, serving as a meeting hall for the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in the early part of the 20th century, before being owned by Tuscaloosa City Schools.

As for its future use, Lewis expressed a hope that the museum can serve as a compliment to the proposed Saban Discovery Center just down the street at the current site of the Tuscaloosa News building.

"We don’t want it to be a stagnant place, we want it to be an active place," he said. "So we have a museum, but we also have this learning center so you can have classes and lectures and [it's] more interactive."

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