Cahawba, Alabama
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Cahaba
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St. Lukes Episcopal Church, built 1854 at Cahaba; moved to Martin's Station in 1878
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| Nearest city | Selma, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 32°19′01″N 87°06′05″W / 32.31694°N 87.10139°WCoordinates: 32°19′01″N 87°06′05″W / 32.31694°N 87.10139°W |
| Area | 853 acres (345 ha) |
| Built | 1818 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| NRHP Reference # | 73000341 |
| Added to NRHP | May 8, 1973 |
Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825, and county seat of Dallas County, Alabama until 1866. It suffered a major flood in 1865 and the state legislature moved the county seat to Selma, which was better situated.
The former settlement is now a ghost town and state historic site. The site is located southwest of Selma, at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, which made it prone to seasonal flooding.
Cahawba was listed on the 1860-1880 U.S. Censuses. Although it remained incorporated until as late as 1989, it did not show up on the census rolls after 1880.
Cahaba had its beginnings as an undeveloped town site at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers. At the old territorial capital of St. Stephens, a commission was formed on 13 February 1818 to select the site for Alabama's state capital. Cahaba was the site chosen and was approved on 21 November 1818. Due to the future capital site being undeveloped, Alabama's constitutional convention took temporary accommodations in Huntsville until a statehouse could be built.
Governor William Wyatt Bibb reported in October 1819 that the town had been laid out and that lots would be auctioned to the highest bidders. The town was planned on a grid system, with streets running north and south named for trees and those running east and west named for famous men. The new statehouse was a two-story brick structure, measuring 40 feet (12 m) wide by 58 feet (18 m) long. By 1820 Cahaba had become a functioning state capital.
Cahaba's low elevation at the confluence of two large rivers resulted in seasonal flooding and a reputation for having an unhealthy atmosphere. A major flood struck the town in 1825, causing a portion of the statehouse to collapse. People who were opposed to the capital's location at Cahaba used this as an argument for moving the capital to Tuscaloosa, which was approved by the legislature in January 1826.
The town would remain the county seat of Dallas County for several more decades. The town eventually recovered from losing the capital and reestablished itself as a social and commercial center. Centered in the fertile "Black Belt", Cahaba became a major distribution point for cotton shipped down the Alabama River to the port of Mobile. The addition of a railroad line in 1859 triggered a building boom in Cahaba. On the eve of the American Civil War, the town had more than 3,000 residents.
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Wikipedia