Shelby
Shelby County was created in February 1818, before Alabama became a state. Columbiana is home to the Shelby County Museum and Archives, located in the old courthouse, and the Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington, which has artifacts and art from America's colonial and early republic periods largely focused on the first U.S. president. American Village, in Montevallo, is an educational complex with replicas of buildings that are significant to the nation's early history. A feature of Montevallo's Orr Park is a walking trail featuring 30 cedar trees with whimsical faces carved into them. The railroad museum in Calera features operating trains, restored depots, and a collection of locomotives and cabooses. Shelby County is also home Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama's largest state park, and the University of Montevallo.
