The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-08
SIX MONTHS ENDING
DeveIopment OF Alabama Roads

gfo1 william +. Martin or Emory
and Henry College fills the April num-
Der of Johns Hopkins University
Studies" with a paper entitled Inter
nal improvements In Alabama" He
begins with the Indian trails, and
traces the roads of the State step by
step to the present steam roads and
river navigation
Paths ran from one Indian village
to another. among the Creek Indians,
and main path. known as the South
ern Trail led in early times from
about where Augusta, Ga, stands,
crossing the Chattahoochee at Column.
bus, and thence across the Ta1lapoosa
at Tookabatcha, then almost due west
to the Coosa, then up the river to
"Ceesa Old Town" and from here NOV
ing westward across the Cahaba river
near Cahaba Old Town, and thence
into the settlements along the Tom
bigbee, and running still farther north
west reaching the Chickasas in north
west Alabama From Coosa a trail ran
to Mobile County, and still another led
from Shallow Ford on the Chattahoo-
chez to High Town or Etowah border
ing on the Cherokee district, and final
ly reached the Chickasas country.
These were the first roads of Alabama,
and along these trails went the first
traders who visited the State The
French later had routes leading from
Mobile to the Greek and Cherokee
towns, and to the Choctaw and Chick
asaw countries. These were trading
| routes.
Then came the federal roads. In
1905 the right was obtained from the
Indians to lay road from ''Tellico to
Tombigbee," in order that the mail of
the United States might be carried
from Knoxville to New Orleans
through the Cherokee, Creek and Choc-
taw countries. This was known as
the Knoxville road" but on it Hunts
vile was begun in 1906, and it soon
became known in Alabama as the
Huntsville road Immigrants used it
or else they followed the trails from
| Georgia, which became about 1920 fed
eral roads. In 1885 it was possible to
go from Richmond to Montgomery over
| roads that the mail was carried on. In
1899 the last of the Indians were
pushed out of Alabama into Missis-
sippi, and then stage lines were estab-
lished, particularly between Columbus,
Ca. and Montgomery. Turnpike and
plank roads followed, some of which
were aided by the State, and thus i'm
migrants from the Carolinas and Geor-
gia were enabled to come into the
State.
Professor Martin traces in like man
ner the rise of the river and harbor
Improvements in the State, including
the Warrior, and he concludes his in
teresting paper with an account of the
construction of railroads in this State.
giving particular attention to the first
efforts in that direction. These first
efforts were based on land grants from
the federal government-six sections
on each side of the track In this way
the Mobile and Ohio received in 1850
over 100000 acres, the Alabama and
Florida nearly as much the Selma,
Rome and Dalton nearly 100000 acres;
the Alabama and Chattanooga, $50 900
acres in 1856; the South and North
Alabama, 100000 acres, and the Mobile
and Girard about 100000 acres. All
this occurred before the civil war; The
first railroad of the State ran from
Decatur to Tuscumba. This road WAS
built in 1892 The road from Selma to
Montgomery came next, and the South
and North was completed in 1872. The
entire story of State aid, both to the
early turnpike roads, and to the later
roads, is told in this pamphlet, every
page of which is full OF interest to one
who desires to study the rise of road
making in this State
/