North Alabama

Emblem/Symbol	Name of Emblem/Symbol	Date Adopted
Bible	State Bible	1853
Great Seal	State map showing major rivers	1876
Flag	Crimson Cross of St. Andrew/white field	1895
Bird	Yellowhammer	1927
Poets Laureate	Alabama State Poets Laureate	1930-1999
Song	Alabama	1933
Coat of Arms of Alabama		1939
Motto	We Dare Maintain Our Rights	1939
Creed	Alabama's Creed	1953
Salt Water Fish	(Fighting) Tarpon	1955
Flower	Camellia	1959
Mineral	Hematite (Red Iron Ore)	1967
Rock	Marble	1969
Horse	Racking Horse	1975
Fresh Water Fish	Largemouth Bass	1975
Game Bird	Wild Turkey	1980
American Folk Dance of AL	Square Dance	1981
Nut	Pecan	1982
Fossil	Basilosaurus cetoides	1984
Renaissance Faire	Florence Renaissance Faire	1988
Alabama State Championship	Horse Show	1988
Official Mascot & Butterfly	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail	1989
Insect	Monarch Butterfly	1989
Reptile	Alabama Red-bellied Turtle	1990
Gemstone	Star Blue Quartz	1990
Shell	Scaphella junonia johnstoneae	1990
Outdoor Drama	William Gibson's The Miracle Worker	1991
Barbecue Championship	Demopolis Christmas on the River Cook-off	1991
Agricultural Museum	Dothan Landmarks Park	1992
Horseshoe Tournament	Stockton Fall Horseshoe Tournament	1992
Historic Theatre	AL Theatre for the Performing Arts	1993
Outdoor Musical Drama	The Incident at Looney's Tavern	1993
Tree	Southern Longleaf Pine	1997
Soil	Bama Soil Series	1997
Quilt	Pine Burr Quilt	1997
Wildflower	Oak-leaf Hydrangea	1999
Amphibian	Red Hills salamander	2000
Fruit	Blackberry	2004
Spirit	Conecuh Ridge Alabama Fine Whiskey	2004
Mammal	Black Bear	2006
Tree Fruit	Peach	2006

Alabama does not have an official nickname. It is commonly referred to as "the Heart of Dixie" and that phrase has appeared on state automobile license plates since the 1950s, but it is not an official nickname. Alabama has also been known as the cotton state and the yellowhammer state.

In 2002 the phrase "Stars Fell on Alabama" began to appear on license plates. It refers to the night of November 12, 1833, when a fantastic meteor shower seen across the Southeast caused this night to be known as “the night stars fell on Alabama.” The shower created such great excitement across the state that it became a part of Alabama folklore and for years was used to date events. A century later it inspired a song and book.

Code of Alabama, 1975, (1998 Cumulative Supplement)

Information Section of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State of Alabama Official Symbols, April 10, 1990.

Alabama Department of Archives and History, Alabama State Emblems, n.d.

reprinted from http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/emblems.html