Old Cahawaba First Capital Alabama Cahaba Ghost Town
Cahawba was Alabama's first capital from 1820-1826. Shortly after the Civil War it became a ghost town. Today, people can visit the ruins of that era and one house that has remained.
In 1819, Cahawba became the capital of Alabama. The land was undeveloped, so the legislature had to find temporary accommodations in Huntsville. By 1820, Cahawba was fully functional.
People who opposed Cahawba as the state capital gave it the reputation of having an unhealthy atmosphere because of flooding. These people persuaded the legislature to move the capital. Cahawba was abandonded in just a few weeks. Tuscaloosa was named the capital in 1826.
The opponents of Cahawba had greatly the exaggerated the flooding problem. People realized this, so Cahawba reestablished itself as a commercial and social center. Cotton shipped down the Alabama River, was sent to Cahawba (the major distribution point at that time). In 1859, a railroad line was built.
Cahawba's railroad was seized during the war by the Confederate government. They used the rails to extend a nearby railroad. Following this event, a prison was established in Cahawba for the captured Union soldiers.
In 1865, the town of Cahawba was flooded. And in 1866, the county seat was removed to Selma. Within a decade, most of the population moved to Selma, taking their houses with them.
The abandoned courthouse became a meeting place for freed-men (this was during the reconstruction). Former slave families became the new community of Cahawba. This community was short lived.
Most of Cahawba's buildings had been dismantled or fallen in by 1900. The ghost town was not unincorporated until 1989. Today, few stuctures remain of Alabama's first state capital.
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