The Capitol School was named for the ruins of the state capitol building located on historic Capitol Park.  Tuscaloosa was the fourth capital city of Alabama from 1826 until 1846.

  Alabama's first territorial capitol was St. Stephnes from 1817 until 1819.  Huntsville served as the second capital city for only one year.  Cahaba became the third state capital in 1820.  It was located on a bluff between the Cahaba and Alabama Rivers which flooded the city numerous times and caused the law makers to vote to move the capital to Tuscaloosa.  Tuscaloosa's location on the fall line of the Black Warrior River has made it a center for commerce since prehistoric times.  Tuscaloosa became the site for Alabama's state government for the next 20 years.  The University Club now occupies the former Governor's Mansion.  In 1846, a political decision was made to move the capital to Montgomery, a more central location in the state.  Montgomery also served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

    The former capitol building then housed the Alabama Central College for the Higher Education of Women.  This was the only local opportunity for girls to attend college since The University of Alabama was a military school for boys.

   The capitol building burned to the ground in 1923.  The city of Tuscaloosa refurbished Capitol Park about 20 years ago following an archaeological dig at the site of the capitol building.  In 1993, the historic building and park were the inspiration for our school's name, The Capitol School.  Two of the buildings now occupied by our school were moved to this site to preserve these historic structures.

    Capitol Park is a Tuscaloosa City park and may be rented for community functions by calling P.A.R.A., Parks and Recreation at 562-3220.

        The McGuire-Strickland house is the oldest wooden frame building in Tuscaloosa County.  The historic marker for this home sits at its original location at the corner of 15th Street and Greensboro Avenue.  This two-story building was built in 1820 was actually moved on to Capitol Park.  The bricks in the floor and columns were hand-made.  The street address for this building is 2828 Sixth Street.  The McGuire-Strickland house houses three elementary clusters:  students ages 5-7, students ages 7-9, and students ages 9-11.

       The Browne-Randall House was built in 1870 and was moved adjacent to Capitol Park on land donated by the Pettus Randall family.   The street address is 2902 Sixth Street and its location is the origin of the city's "River Walk".  This building houses the school office, several classrooms for Spanish, German, Art, Science, English and History for Middle and High School clusters.

          The Capitol Preschool is housed in the Ewing-Wilhelm House located at 2918 Sixth Street.  This home was built in 1900 at this location.  It houses two Montessori Preschool classes for children ages 2.5 - 5 years of age with an adjacent playground.