A Small City In Central Alabama That Earned Itself The Designation As The Literary Capital Of America With Famous Works Like "To Kill A Mockingbird"
Monroeville, Alabama is a small, Southern city just like any other. Located in central Alabama, it is the county seat of Monroe County and would likely fly under the radar for travel minded individuals except for one extraordinary fact—its place in literary history for its ability to produce exceptional literary figures including Nelle Harper Lee and her most famous work from 1960 To Kill A Mockingbird.
Monroeville has earned itself the designation as the "Literary Capital of America" because of this feat and draws in around 30,000 annually for those looking to pay homage to the roots of Lee and her celebrated novel. "Almost anyone who comes here comes for literary history" notes Executive Director of the Monroeville Monroe Chamber of Commerce, Sandy . "It is driven by Harper Lee who grew up here. She writes about a small town in Alabama and it’s modeled after Monroeville. This sense of place brings people here."
Monroeville left its mark on Lee growing up in the then small town during the Depression era. She propelled that experience into her work, using a plot and characters based loosely on the observations of family and neighbors of racial tensions in the 1930s straight from Monroeville. But many were unsure of both the extraordinariness of Lee's work, and what if anything it would mean to a city like Monroeville who many saw as just home; just like any other small city in the South.
George Thomas Jones who has lived in Monroeville for over 90 years and works on staff at the Monroe County Museum explains. "I moved here when I was three and I've seen a few things. Lee got a story from the Depression days living in Monroeville. I was a kid growing up here. We didn't know there was a Depression. We had everything we needed. We were all in the same boat. It wasn't sensational living in Monroeville in the 1930s. There wasn't a single paved road until 1934. It was an isolated, rural town back then."
But somehow To Kill A Mockingbird and Lee's connection to Monroeville propelled both onto center stage in literary history. "She quit law school and hightailed it to New York to write. We thought no one would buy the book because what is there to write about in Monroeville? The town didn't get too excited until we knew there was going to be a movie made. This is around 1962. Gregory Peck came to town to get a sense of Monroeville and check out the old courtroom. That got people excited" notes Jones. "I didn't even read the book until six or seven years ago" continued Jones. "The book came out in the heart of the civil rights movement so the timing was right."
Monroeville now has its place in literary history because of Lee's hometown connection and the city continues to keep the tradition alive leveraging its place as the "Literary Capital of America"attracting thousands of visitors each year."People come internationally and domestically in search of Harper Lee herself. She's a celebrity in her own right. We're a main street town with charm and character and people want to see that for themselves" notes .
So how does Monroeville keep its literary feet wet and attract 30,000 odd tourists a year? First and foremost is the Monroe County Museum. The museum carries a special, permanent exhibit entirely on Lee and her famous work To Kill A Mockingbird. In addition, the Old Courthouse Museum is a destination for those seeking out Lee's connection to both Monroeville and to Maycomb. Restored to its original 1930s appearance, it now serves as a model for Lee's fictional courtroom settings from her novel.
Visitors are free to step foot into the courthouse and imagine the trials and tribulations that occurred in Monroeville in the 1930s inspiring Lee's imagination and creativity. The museum even notes that Lee often sat in the balcony of that very courthouse during her childhood watching her father practice law. "The old country courthouse is famous because of the book. 30,000 people come every year just to see the old courthouse. Imagine that" said Jones. "It's like walking into a movie."
Despite Monroeville's claim to literary fame and the attraction it holds to many in the literary world; it is just home to many including Jones. "The book hasn't changed the town; not one bit. Lee put the town on the map, but it hasn't changed the town. It's just like any old small place in Alabama. Because of the setting of the book, it draws people in, but its happenstance. We have good people here." Literary-minded RV travelers, or those just looking for a sneak peek of a small Southern city just like any other, should be sure to add Monroeville, Alabama to their list of "must visit" destinations.
Jamie Galvin
With an undergraduate degree in English and a masters in Counseling Psychology, Jamie works as an academic advisor and has also written for various publications including Sterling Meetinghouse. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and her very talkative 4-year-old daughter
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