Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1895-12-13
A RUINED CAPITAL.
The Fall of Cahaba, Once Chief
City of Alabama.
Before the Days Of Railroads It Was the
Center Of Culture and Learning
Now a Cotton Plan


ruins is land without memories" If
such be the truth, Alabama is not with
out memories. A visit to the planta-
ton of Capt. Cliff Kirkpatrick, situated
about twelve miles from Selma, in Dali
las county, beside the ripping waters
of the Alabama river, where the once
city OF Cahaba, for many years the cap
ital of the state, and the seat of culture
and learning, stood, will convince one
of this fact. What was once the streets
and boulevards of the gay city are now
broad fields, where stately stalks of
corn and spreading plants of cotton
grow in lr.luriance, nourished by the
fertile soil upon which famous men in
Alabama's history half century ago
gathered to solve grave problems of
state or to enjoy the unalloyed pleas
ures of antebellum times.
Before the days of railroads, says the
Chattanooga Times, Cahaba, then the
capital of Alabama, was in her glory.
Beautifully situated, with steamboats,
plying up and down the Alabama river
between Cahaba and Mobile, carrying
down cargoes Of cotton and produce and
returning with merchandise, the ancient
capital became the inland metropolis
Of her state. The bulk of the cotton
crop was shipped through it. The
wealthy planters and slave owners
made their purchases there and it's
trade became large: 1t was likewise
the hub of aristocracy and the seat of
colleges and schools of high order.
When the legislature was in session the
season Of gayety set in. The palatial
homes of the wealthy and historic fam
lilies, many of whom owned lordly man
sions in and around Cahaba, were
thrown open and southern hospitality
held uninterrupted sway. These homes
were veritable palaces of luxuriance,
for their owners lived in the lap of
plenty.
The decline of Cahaba began before
the war, when railroads missed it and
were built to Selma and Montgomery.
The days of river transportation were
numbered, and Cahabas trade began
to leave for the more favored cities, and
with it went the population gradually.
Then the capital was removed, and
next the courthouse. The population
continued to diminish. Then came the
trials of war, the raid of Wilson's cav
alry and the devastation that followed.
by the end Of the war Cahaba's glory
had departed It was veritable de-
serted village. The more substantial
Of its buildings still stood, but it's peo-
pie had sought other climes.
A visit to the ancient place-now
cotton plantation-a few days ago dis
closed some curious sights. It demon
strated what wonderful changes time
had wrought. Nearly one hundred old
houses, relies of the past, still stand,
and around them the cotton plants are
just now disclosing their white blooms
These old structures, built of brick.
will for years to come continue to mark
the spot where the proud city once
stood, for the owner of the plantation
does not contemplate pulling them
down. Some We're stores, others were
churches and schoolhouses, and others
still lordly mansions. All are crum-
bling to ruins, and while few are in
habited by negro families who labor on
the farm, the majority are tenanted
only by bats and owls.
On a hill not far from the river stands
what was once the capitol building in
whose walls the eloquence of William
q. Yancy and other famous Alabamians
Of by-gone days resounded. The old
a substantial three.story stone
and brick structure, still stands, and is
utilized now as gristn1il and steam
ginnery. Across from it are two blocks
OF brick stores, time having made sad
inroads into them. ...
The once fashionable church of the
town, which cost many thousands of
dollars, is now used by colored con-
1t was, when built, the
costliest and haIdsomest house of wor-
ship in the state. The old Dallas acad-
envy, where Senator John T. Morgan
school, is now only towering
mass OF ruins. The place where the
historic Craig family resided is planted
in corn, and the broad expanse where
Gen. E. W. Pettus' costly house stood
is now used as a pasture. The ruins of
the famous old Perrine mansion, which
cost sixty thousand dollars, were torn
away last year and the brick used for
other purposes. A solitary magnolia
tree marks the spot where it stood. {.
At one time Cahaba was a city Of
many thensand people. Lots sold for
IS high as fifteen thousand to twenty
thousand dollars. Now the entire site,
With land adjoining, embracing nine
hundred acres, is owned by one man,
apt. Cliff Kirkpatrick, who came out
II the war penniless, but by pluck and !
perseverance has built up his lost for
une until low he possesses one of the
inest plantations in the south. He re-
ides with his charming family in one
i the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. antebel-
um mansions, which has been reftted.
t is hospitality's own abode. The
property which Capt. Kirkpatrick now
WINS could not have been bought fifty
ears ago for ten million dollars. Some
airty artesian wells, which quenched
ne thirst Of our ancestors, still flow
'eely. but only the wandering herds
I'D the thirsty farm laborer imbibe
leir sparkling waters. If the story OF
lhaba IS rise and fall could have been
ctured by Father Ryan he would have
lmortalized the dead city.