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 Harrison Museum of George Washington, which has artifacts and art from America’s colonial and early republic periods. 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 with more than 30 cedar tree carvings. 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.