5 Things About Alabama That Haven’t Changed Since the 1970s

Phones, cars and fashion look nothing like they did decades ago.

A few things in Alabama have stayed put through all of it, though, and locals may pass them every day without a second thought.

Here’s what’s held steady in Alabama through all those years.

1. Talladega’s Two Race Weekends

Talladega Superspeedway has hosted two NASCAR race weekends a year since 1970, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

That first year, the Alabama 500 ran on April 12 and the Talladega 500 on August 23.

The second weekend has since moved from August to October, but you can still pick between two race weekends a year.

Bring earplugs.

If you’re planning a trip, the track’s website lists this fall’s race weekend for October 23-25 and the spring weekend for April 24-25, 2027.

2. Seven Congressional Districts

Alabama’s seven congressional districts trace to a 1972 act, according to the Legislature’s redistricting history.

Act No. 120, approved January 19, 1972, amended the code to divide the state into seven districts.

Look up Section 17-14-70 of the Code of Alabama and you’ll find it still divides the state into seven districts.

The section’s history line lists acts from 1981 through 2023.

The current code adopts the map from the 2023 act, so your ballot for Congress covers one of the seven districts it draws.

Seven stayed seven.

3. State Flag Law

Alabama’s state flag is described in Section 1-2-5 of the Code of Alabama as a crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white.

The bars forming the cross must be at least six inches broad and run diagonally from side to side.

A historical note in the code says the flag as it exists today was adopted on February 16, 1895, under Act No. 383.

The wording matches what Section 1-2-5 carries today.

Section 1-2-5’s history line lists the codes of 1896, 1907, 1923 and 1940.

The list stops at 1940.

Since no act appears after 1940, you’d have found the same description in a 1970s copy of the code.

4. Annual Iron Bowl

The 1972 Iron Bowl ended with Auburn beating Alabama 17-16 after returning two blocked Alabama punts for touchdowns.

The game became known as “Punt Bama Punt.”

Auburn and Alabama agreed in 1948 to renew the rivalry.

The teams then met every year at Birmingham’s Legion Field until 1989.

Today, you still get the game once a season.

You can plan around the 2026 game, which Alabama’s athletics site lists for November 28 in Tuscaloosa.

Mark your calendar.

5. 67-County Map

Alabama’s county map still shows 67 counties, according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

The newest is Houston County, created on February 9, 1903.

You can trace Houston County to Henry County, which supplied 72 percent of it, with Dale and Geneva counties giving the rest.

No county followed.

A map of Alabama drawn in 1975 shows the same 67 counties you’d draw today.

The Rocket Center's 1970 Opening

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville opened in 1970 as a public-relations extension of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

Its first exhibits were Apollo hardware, memorabilia and rocks collected during the Moon missions.

The Apollo program was entering a period of decline as the center opened.

Bad timing.

Look at the center's website today and you'll still find it calling itself the Official NASA Visitor Center for Marshall Space Flight Center.

You can also see the Apollo 16 Command Module, Casper, in the permanent collection.

Scottsboro's Unclaimed Baggage Center

The Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro was founded in 1970 by Doyle Owens and his wife, Susan.

The couple started out part-time, reselling unclaimed baggage from bus companies, until Doyle began making trips to Atlanta to buy airline baggage.

They went full time after the business was incorporated in 1978.

Airlines generally hold your unclaimed bag for at least 90 days and up to 120 days while they try to locate you.

After that, the store buys luggage by the pound and takes in more than 20,000 items a day.

The store discards roughly a third of the items, sends another third to charity, and puts the rest on sale.

The stock ranges from electronics to skis to wedding dresses and, in one case, a suit of armor.

Nobody claimed the armor.

Dauphin Island's Fishing Rodeo

The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo held its first tournament in 1929 at Fort Gaines Pier on Dauphin Island, with 260 anglers competing.

At that first tournament, carrier pigeons brought news of the daily catches to Mobile.

No bridge between Dauphin Island and the mainland would open until 1955.

The Encyclopedia of Alabama calls the rodeo the nation's oldest and largest saltwater fishing competition.

It runs three days each July and draws more than 3,000 contestants.

You can compete as an amateur against professional teams that boat makers and fishing equipment manufacturers sponsor.

In the early 1990s, as prizes began to exceed $100,000, the rodeo began using polygraph tests to prove who caught which fish.

Your fish story needed proof.

Details That Did Change

If you're headed to Kentuck, its website says the festival's 55th edition will be held October 17-18, 2026 in Tuscaloosa.

The festival, founded in 1971, was held in Kentuck Park until 2024, when it moved to Snow Hinton Park.

The cars you'd see at Talladega changed in 1988, when carburetor restrictor plates were introduced for the races at both Talladega and Daytona.

Not everything stayed put.