The Alabama Rural Heritage Foundation & Center is located in Thomaston, Alabama, at the former Marengo County High School. This building, completed in 1909, is the oldest standing county high school in the state.

Beginning as a foundation in 1986 and incorporated as a non-profit foundation in 1990, the Center displays and sells traditional folk art and crafts from across the state.

The Foundation was created with Six basic goals:

To preserve and celebrate rural heritage.

To protect and demonstrate diverse cultural contributions to rural heritage.

To provide opportunities for cultural enrichment.

To encourage economic development which enhances the lifestyle of rural citizens and small town America.

To conserve, develop, and promote the unique handicrafts of rural life, and to exhibit and market these crafts.

To improve and enhance the quality of life for citizens of small towns and rural areas.