Freedom Riders National Monument
Outdoor interpretation at the former Greyhound station and a second site west of Anniston mark where a Freedom Riders bus was attacked and then burned on Mother’s Day 1961.
Artwork inspired by William Christenberry
The distance between depot and burning site matters. Follow the route to see how organized mob violence, police inaction, local rescue, national media, and federal response unfolded across time rather than at one memorial marker.
This is a park in progress with limited indoor services. Download the NPS material before driving, use both official sites, and never stop on unsafe shoulders to improvise a photograph.
- Greyhound depot
- Restored terminal marks first attack
- bus-burning site
- Second attack occurred miles west
- 1961 route between them
- Two sites form one story
Quick guide
- Best first move
- Greyhound depot: Outdoor interpretation at the former Greyhound station and a second site west of Anniston mark where a Freedom Riders bus was attacked and then burned on Mother’s Day 1961.
- Most revealing detail
- bus-burning site gives the clearest route into two separated places reconstruct one violent interruption.
Quick guide
- Start with
- Begin at the restored bus station, then visit the outdoor bus-burning site; they explain two attacks in one coordinated campaign.
- Look closely at
- bus-burning site — The distance between depot and burning site matters.
- Connect the story
- 1961 route between them — This is a park in progress with limited indoor services.
- Plan around
- Allow 1½–2 hours; plan around 1961 route between them and current access conditions.
Good to know
Map both NPS units before departure; visiting only the depot leaves the central geography incomplete.
Notice these
- Greyhound depot
- bus-burning site
- 1961 route between them