The Story of Cahawba, the Doomed First Capital of Alabama

Cahawba, Alabama

In 1819, Alabama needed a capital for its brand new state, and the spot where the Cahaba River met the Alabama River looked perfect on paper.

The state bought the land from local farmers, drew up an impressive grid of streets, and started selling lots.

By 1820, Cahawba was Alabama’s first permanent capital city, with lawmakers meeting in a two-story statehouse built right on Capitol Square.

Land Prices Jumped 7,000% in Just Five Years

When Cahawba became Alabama’s capital in 1819, land that cost $1 per acre shot up to $70 per acre within months. By 1824, empty lots downtown were selling for $5,000 each (about $135,000 in today’s money).

Property records show the most expensive sale was the Crocheron mansion site, which went for $7,500 in 1825. This boom made early investors like James Saltonstall rich overnight – he bought 640 acres in 1818 for $640 and sold it in pieces for a total of $48,000 by 1825.

But being wedged between two rivers came with problems.

Floods Drove Everyone to Tuscaloosa

After major floods in 1825, state officials started having second thoughts about their chosen location.

The final blow came when an 1826 state legislative committee reported that the site was just too unhealthy. They blamed stagnant water, swamp gases, and fever-carrying mosquitoes.

The state government packed up for Tuscaloosa in 1826, just six years after moving in.

Instead of dying out, though, Cahawba reinvented itself.

The Cotton Boom

The same riverfront location that worried politicians made it perfect for shipping cotton.

By the 1850s, it had become one of the wealthiest towns in Alabama, with ornate mansions, busy shops, and some of the state’s first public gas lighting.

When the Civil War broke out, the Confederates used the old cotton warehouse as Castle Morgan prison, holding about 3,000 Union soldiers in rough conditions.

That Prison Had a Surprisingly Low Death Rate

Castle Morgan prison ran from June 1863 to March 1865 in an old cotton warehouse that was just 125 by 200 feet. Even though it packed up to 3,000 Union soldiers into a space meant for 432, only 2-3% of prisoners died there compared to 15.5% at other Confederate camps.

The prison’s boss, Captain H.A.M. Henderson, was a Methodist minister who insisted on treating prisoners humanely. Records show exactly 147 prisoners died here, mostly from poor nutrition and flea-carried diseases.

Confederate Soldiers Ripped Up the Railroad That Could’ve Saved the Town

In 1863, Confederate military leaders made a choice that doomed Cahawba. Desperate for materials, they ordered 3.7 miles of iron rails from Cahawba’s new railroad to be torn up and used for military tracks elsewhere.

This left the town without important transportation during the Civil War blockade. Military records show Captain Henry Semple’s engineering team removed 85 tons of rail in just 11 days.

When the war ended, there wasn’t money to rebuild, forcing businesses to move to towns with better connections.

Floods Ruined a Freedmen’s Community

After the war, most white residents left for nearby Selma, but Cahawba saw one more chapter.

Former slaves moved in, bought property, and made it into a thriving community of freedmen. They set up businesses, built homes, and even established a school.

For a brief but significant moment, Cahawba became a Black-run town where former slaves could build independent lives and own land.

But severe flooding in 1865 and 1867 eventually convinced most people to move on, and by 1900, even the most stubborn residents had gone.

Cahawba’s Story Includes a Tragic Boat Explosion

After being released from Castle Morgan in March 1865, about 1,000 former prisoners got on the steamboat Sultana at Vicksburg on April 24, 1865. The boat was dangerously overcrowded with 2,300 passengers even though it should only carry 376.

On April 27, three of the boat’s four boilers blew up seven miles north of Memphis, killing around 1,800 people, including 800 former Cahawba prisoners.

This is still America’s worst boating disaster, but it didn’t get much attention because it happened right after Lincoln was killed.

Cahawba Stayed on Maps for 169 Years After Everyone Left

Despite being abandoned after the 1865 flood, Cahawba legally remained a town until May 9, 1989. This 169-year existence made it Alabama’s longest-lasting ghost town. Official state maps kept showing it as a town until 1990, requiring map makers to make corrections.

The 1970 U.S. Census still listed Cahawba with 9 residents, though investigators found these were actually people living outside town boundaries.

The last person to live here, former slave Jack McPherson, died in 1905 while serving as the town’s unofficial caretaker.

Native Americans Lived Here Long Before the Capital

Digs in 1986 proved that Cahawba was built right on top of an important Native American town from around 1550. This earlier settlement had a 30-foot ceremonial mound with a 300-foot half-circle moat around it.

In 1819, Governor William Wyatt Bibb worked these features into his plans for Alabama’s capital. The original mound was destroyed in the 1850s when workers used its dirt to build up a railroad track. Objects found here show connections to both Moundville and Gulf Coast native groups.

Locals Raised $1.2 Million to Save the Ghost Town

Since 2008, the Cahaba Foundation has led an impressive preservation effort. They’ve raised $1.2 million to buy 27 privately-owned lots in the historic area, build a new secure entrance gate in 2023, and fund digs that have found 163,000 artifacts.

In 2018, the park got a $400,000 grant to build trails connecting main features. The St. Luke’s Episcopal Church restoration, designed by famous architect Richard Upjohn in 1854, was finished in 2022 after 15 years of work.

You Can Ride Free Vintage-Style Bikes Through Town

The park keeps 17 cruiser bicycles you can borrow for free with paid entry. These bikes look like 1890s models but have modern safety features, letting you explore the town’s 5-mile network of smooth roads.

You’ll need to leave a valid driver’s license as a deposit. In 2024, over 3,500 visitors used these bikes to tour the site. The bike program started in 2015 with just 6 bikes but grew through donations from the Selma Cycling Club and a $15,000 community grant in 2023.

River Mud Preserves Amazing Historical Treasures

Regular flooding created natural time capsules under layers of mud. Since serious digs began in 1993, archaeologists have found 17,421 cataloged items from underwater deposits.

Recent discoveries include a merchant’s account book from 1861 preserved in river clay, a complete set of 23 medicine bottles, and a cache of Civil War weapons found in 2022.

Dr. Linda Derry, who’s been the site archaeologist since 1993, thinks that less than 15% of potential artifacts have been dug up, with discoveries likely to continue for decades.

Ground-Penetrating Radar Revealed a Lost Cemetery

In 2019, special radar surveys showed the slave burial ground contains 215 unmarked graves dating from 1819-1860. Located on the east edge of town via a quarter-mile trail, this cemetery was nearly forgotten until recent research.

Records show it was established in July 1819 when the first enslaved workers arrived to build the state capitol. The cemetery grew as Cahawba’s enslaved population increased to 1,500 by 1860.

In 2023, researchers identified 37 people by name through estate records and created memorial markers honoring them.

Visiting Cahawba

Old Cahawba Archaeological Park sits at 9518 Cahaba Road, Orrville, AL 36767, about 8 miles southwest of Selma. Park grounds are open daily with the Visitor Center open Thursday-Monday.