The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-09
By D. ". McIver.

 from the Louisville and Nashville Rail- road and the terminus of a branch of that road.
 wetumpka is a progressive town and many enterprising citizens nxe .neae. tivity and thrift on every hand, ana u Is destined to regain its lost greatness some day in the near future. Thls was once one of the ieadins ,sss xoWns when on the @ matter of the removal Of the Capltai from Tuscaloosa was being agitated, con tested with Montgomery and Tuscaioosa for the honor but Montgomery won: Al that time wetumpka was city of lS,UV people and our friend. Hon. Thomas VII Hams, who was for three terms the con gressnan from this District. tells or an incident that probably dscidea rd tne caused lsss 1t to lose the State Capital Colonel VII Hams says that in 1885. when the org, final Daniel Pratt was thinking Of locat- ing in Alabama and in search or an eli- rible site for his industries. he came to Wetumpka. and being most favoraoiy impressed with the value or the great water power which nature has provided here. he proposed to oay iaao ss sooud snd .n ese tabhsh his gin factory there. The people, were very much excited about 1t and all thought that was the only spot for sucn an undertaking and askea unreasonaoiv mnn,, had a public meeting and discussed the matter among themselves. adhering to their high figures. MT. Pratt was pres cnt and told them that 1T he paio those prices for the land he would have no money left to put into his plant ana ne left to look for another site, which ne soon found at Prattviile. the history or which has already been told. If the de, cision had been different and the land owners here had been wise enough 10 have seen into the future and nad SC. cured Mir. Pratt to locate there, even III they had given him the land. the city may have won in the race for the site of the Capital and along the banks or the river within the corporate nmts there may now be located all kinds or manufactures and industries and nave a population of fifty or hundred tnous- and When the fight for the Capital was lost many buildings, business houses anu residences were torn down ana tiken '. Montgomery and erected there. Colonel | Williams says that the entire block along Blob Street where the Merchants Hotel Is located was built by contractor wlln material taken from buildings nere. anu from that day to this Wetumpka has been a small town. but is now iooAing tp and in few years may be great city again. which she surely will De as soon as the magnificent water power here is utilized and the advantages given by | nature are developed by capital. The name itself indicates rumbling water: which will some day be used for wnat 1t was intendcd-great manmtactorles-Is
 
 that could possibly be used. The town is situated on both sides of the river, | and is joined by bridge. an illustrapon cf which is given elsewhere. wnich .s pays a handsome dividend in tolls: The pcnite ntiary was located here in lsSs ana the first inmate was George Garrett VI Autauga. who was sentenced 10 twenty wears for harboring runaway slave. It is now used for the infirm and de- crepid convicts, but is kept in manner which brings a revenue to the state. The health record of the town is excellent ana the water pure. An electric light plant has rec. ntly been erected ana water works will follow as necessity or moo trn convenience and necessity. fhere are three active churches in the town, Metn- odist Baptist and Presbyterian. each having an able pastor and sood sun day School
 Wetu.npka is looked upon as, flour ishing suburb of Montgomery, but some day when the great water power nere Is hridled and the busy hum of the spin dle and the music of machinery IS 10 pc heard everywhere, the town will nave thousands of people again and pernaps rival the nearby Capital City.
 Elmorc County is one of the leading counties Of the State and is destined to be the home of many Of the thirty ana indust-iols home seekers who are coming to Alabama in search of good lands and salub, ious climate. The county Is named for the late iilustrious John A. Fillmore. The historic ldllupOOSd TiNeT down from the north makes great bend and forms two sides of the county. Its resources are varied and its fac1llties for misunderstanding are unsurpassed. IT, indeed, they arc not unequqalled by any other county in Alabama The lands of this section vary in appearance and in the merit of their soils. The gray lands have the predominancy in the county, and vary with the different localities.
 On the Coosa River. above Wetumpka, there are found narrow basins of good land. but out from these bottoms there are formed level plains which. are gen side of the Coosa River. opposite the town of Wetumpka. there is an extended level plain which stretches away to the boundary of Autauga County. The char acter of the land belonging to this level stretch of country is sandy surface with a stiff clay subsol. This gives to the wagon-ways perpetual frmness ana renders hauling easy. Following along the Tallapoosa one finds girt Of supe- rior lands which are excellent for the production of cotton and corn. Perhaps the best lands are found in the fork Of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. Ihese alluvial bottoms have been steadily plant cd for many years, and have yielded un- ceasingly heavy crops of cotton. The planters prize these river lands because of their capacity to produce the snowy staple more than any others in the county
 The lands that lie above those just all luded to, and which are above the point of the annual overflow of the rivers, are also superb cotton lands. and are re- garded the safest for the production of that staple. Of course. 1t must not be understood that the production or cotton is confined to these lands. In different parts of the county are brown loam and slaty soils. which yield splendid crops.
 The productions of the county which may be mentioned as staple are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rice, peas. millet and sugdr-cane.
 Fillmore has many magnificent pine for ests In consequence of these, fine lumber and timber business long ago sprang up. Along its numerous streams of extensive water power are found many large and fourishing mills. These vast domains of pine cover the great level tract of country stretching westward boundary of the county. Very little shrubbery Is here found, but there is a great variety of flowers. and many Of them are found in plots or patches Of great beauty.
 Fruits, domestic and wild, grow with great readiness in Elmore, and in most sections do remarkably well. They all ways thrive when planted upon sand-cov- cred land. as beneath there is almost the universal prevalence of a clay subsoil. Pears. apples, figs grapes, peaches. rasp berries. stra wberries. and others do quite we'll. The prevailing timbers are oak. pine, hickory, beech. walnut. magnolia. dogwood, gum and persimmon. Yellow ochre is the only mineral thus far dis covered.
 , At Tallassee. on the Tallapoosa River. is the Tallassee Cotton Factory. which was, for many years, the largest mill of that character in the South. The falls