Edistone Hotel Saved: A Cornerstone of American History

Selma, Alabama, is best known as the starting point of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery marches that galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and led to the Voting Rights Act. Now, The Conservation Fund is proud to announce that we have saved one of Selma’s most historic landmarks from the wrecking ball: the Edistone Hotel. 

Perched on the banks of the Alabama River, the hotel was built in 1855 on land once used for slave auctions. After the Civil War, it became home to the Freedmen’s Bureau — one of the first places in the South where newly emancipated African Americans were treated with dignity. In the 1870s, the hotel’s owner made history by offering equal accommodations regardless of race. 

But after years of neglect, the Edistone’s roof had begun to collapse and its walls were buckling. Its story was close to being erased — until The Conservation Fund intervened to ensure its legacy endures. 

“It’s unfathomable that the Edistone Hotel, a place so rich in American history, came so close to being lost forever,” said Phillip Howard, Manager of the Legacy Places Initiative for The Conservation Fund. “By saving the Edistone Hotel, we’re not just protecting the physical location. We’re protecting the stories and legacies of all those that passed through its doors, or stood at this site, and are ensuring those stories live on as part of our shared American history.” 

Together with the City of Selma and the talented team at MASS Design Group — known for creating the National Memorial for Peace and Justice — the Edistone Hotel is being reimagined as a place for the community: a museum, co-working space, and grocery store that will welcome both residents and visitors. 

Part of a Larger Effort to Protect Legacy Places 

While The Conservation Fund is best known for saving iconic landscapes like Grand Teton National Park and the Montana grasslands, we also protect historic places that tell America’s full story. Since 1985, we’ve safeguarded more than 80 Civil War battlefields along with landmarks like the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument and the final home of literary icon, Zora Neale Hurston. 

There are thousands more historic African American sites across the country that are at risk of being lost forever — to time, development or indifference. The Conservation Fund is working with local communities and partners to identify these important places, such as important civil rights sites across the South, homes and farms that made up the Underground Railroad, and locations where priceless American culture — art, music, literature — was created. 

You Can Help! Join The Conservation Fund in protecting our shared history by making a donation today. Every gift helps preserve the places that shaped America.