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Costumed interpreters at American Village in Alabama
ADOBE STOCK
Talking About a
Revolution
In the year of America’s 250th birthday, Alabama’s American Village invites visitors to step into life during 1775–1776.
By Amity Moore Joyce
From America’s southern states, the road to Revolutionary history doesn’t necessarily have to lead north to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. It can lead to Montevallo, Alabama, where American Village welcomes visitors with Colonial-era replica buildings, costumed interpreters, hands-on experiences and genuine artifacts. Designed as an immersive journey into the nation’s beginnings, the campus makes history accessible.
Crowd gathers to hear “Patrick Henry” speak in the Colonial Chapel.
AMERICAN VILLAGE
The vision originated with the attraction’s founder, Tom Walker, who wanted the story of America’s founding to be available to all. According to his friend Kirk Lightfoot, Tom felt that kids were not getting sufficient education about the nation’s Founding Fathers, the principles they championed and the events that happened to found America. “He wanted to bring that history to them,” Lightfoot says, recalling a primitive drawing Walker shared of what the village could look like. “He procured the land and got it done.”
"At American Village, you are transported not only in time back to the Colonial period, but also to the locations. For many people, they never go to the home of George Washington, Mount Vernon. They cannot go to the Williamsburg Courthouse, to the home of tradesmen, to the taverns where meetings discussing liberty, natural rights and independence were held. At American Village, you are there."
—Thomas McCall, Social Science teacher
George Washington’s Mount Vernon home in Virginia provided the inspiration for Washington Hall at American Village.
Although Walker’s vision included exact, full-scale replicas of historical sites, such as Independence Hall, the North Bridge, Mount Vernon and the White House Oval Office, along with structures inspired by Williamsburg, he, most importantly, wanted visitors to understand the ideas debated, decided and upheld within them—liberty, responsibility and self-government.
JDanny Cooper, who portrays Uncle Sam at the village, shares Walker’s words: “Our young people cannot safeguard what they do not cherish, and they cannot cherish what they do not know.” American Village educates visitors about what liberty, responsibility and self-government mean to the United States by making history fun and experiential rather than something to observe.
"On Independence Day, I hand out approximately 6,000 flags, one at a time to everybody who comes by. I give veterans a $2 bill with an inscription I write ahead of time. I sign then Uncle Sam."
—JDanny Cooper, who portrays Uncle Sam
“It uses authentic architecture, rigorous educational research and first-person interpretation to spark curiosity and conversation,” explains Melanie Poole, communications officer at American Village.
This year for America’s 250th, American Village is expanding its vignettes, patriotic celebrations, hands-on demonstrations and immersive experiences, including the Independence Hall Experience, which opened in fall 2025. After checking in at the Visitor Center, book that experience, suggests Poole. It transports guests back to the Revolution, complete with the sound and feel of battle cannons and Paul Revere’s horse’s thundering hooves, puffs of air mimicking musket fire, and voices raised in debate.
Costumed interpreter talks with young recruits visiting American Village
“Guests don’t simply walk past exhibits,” explains Poole. They roll hoops across the lawn, “fire” stick muskets in mock battles, live like soldiers at the Encampment and engage with historical figures Uncle Sam, George and Martha Washington, John and Abigail Williams, James Armistead Lafayette, and many others.
AMERICAN VILLAGE VIDEO
“The immersion in Colonial America is so complete,” shares AP U.S. History teacher Anita Lewis, who has been taking groups of high school juniors to American Village for the past several years. She remembers one group that was so engaged with the reenactor portraying Phillis Wheatley that her speech brought tears to their eyes. “They get to feel like they’re living within the history they’ve learned about,” she says.
The Oval Office at American Village is a full-scale replica of The White House Oval Office.
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“I have had the privilege to go to Williamsburg and Mount Vernon,” says Tom McCall, Social Science teacher at Isabella High School in Maplesville, Alabama, “…and after going [there], I realized the accuracy in the smallest of details at American Village were preserved. The totality of American Village is what makes it unique.”
American Village is Walker’s vision realized—history that is accessible, approachable and meaningful—making it a perfect place to mark America’s 250th.
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