Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-18
CITY OF TUSCALOOSA
One of the Most Beautiful
Places in the South.
LONG THE CAPITAL
STREETS ARE WIDE AND HOUSES
FAR APART.
Formerly q Great Commercial Center
Seat Of the University
Of Alabama.
LONG THE CAPITAL
BY WIN. E. CURTIS.

BY WIN. E. CURTIS.
Specia. Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record-Herald.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala, March 16. 1905
The University of Alabama. and the only
institution for higher education in that
state. is situated at Tuscaloosa. an ideal
southern city, about sixty miles west Of
Birmingham. 1t is one of the most beauti-
full cities In the south, and has always been
celebrated for the culture Of its inhabitants.
the pure architecture of it's residences and
the noble oaks which shelter them from the
sun. 1t has been called 1.-The Druid city,"
'the city Of oaks" 1.-THE Athens of the
south" and by similar titles of honor that
describe its characteristics. and. curiously
enough, its architectural superiority is at
tributed to the influence of Thomas Jeffer-
son and his artistic taste.
Tuscaloosa was originally and for many
years the capital of Alabama The vener-
able state house, still in a fair state of
preservation. but sadly in need of paint, is
occupied as boarding school for young
women. The building belongs to the uni
versity, and 1t is leased to the Baptists for
a nominal sum perpetually, or as long as
1t Is used for educational purposes The
town was laid out by engineers of the
United states government upon public lands
De1ore mouse was erected, and several of
the Old families hold patents signed by the
President of the United States. This was in
1873. The streets were made very wide
most of them 100 feet Each square con-
ta1nS two acres Of land, divided into four
lots, which were sold directly by the com
missioner of the United States land Office
TO the original settlers. The name was
ADOPTED from an Indian tribe living in that
neighborhood by the United States engineer
in charge.
1t is an excellent site for a city. There
are Few IN the south, or anywhere else, for
that matter, SO adaptable for residences and
that combine beauty and the SANITARY
conditions that are required for the health
ana happiness of civilized communities.
Magifcent Distances.
BY the census of 1900 Tuscaloosa had
5.o94 inhabitants. and now claims 5000 of
whom IS per cent are white and IS per cent
are colored. But the residence lots are so
large and the streets so wide that 1t covers
an area sufficient for twenty times that
number and is really a city of magnificent
distances. The main street north and south
Is two and a half miles, and from east to
west two miles long.
A famous architect has declared that he
has never seen in any other city SO many
pure Greek porticoeS' as are found I'm the
old colonial homes" of Tuscaloosa. The
residences on the principal streets are all
Most of them were erected in the early part
OF the nineteenth century, shortly after the
city was founded. Being the political cap-
ital and the seat of learning of the state il
had greater social importance than any
other city between Savannah and New Or
leans, and uniform style of architecture
was adopted by the rich planters who built
their homes here. in imitation of the class
fcal elegance which Thomas PATTERSON had
introduced into the south at the University
OF Virginia. The original buildings of the
Alabama University were of the same STYLE
OF classic architecture, with lofty Ionic pill
a n md ran- of r1ac IL
onnades, those Jefferson designed for
the University of Virginia at Charlottesville,
and both planters, merchants and profess
sional men, impressed by this beauty and
refinement, adopted the same school of
architecture for their residences They
erected imposing porticoes, and several of
them built colonnadeS on three sides of
their houses, with huge columns of succeed
brick rising from the foundations to the
roof.
Thus there was time when Tuscaloosa
was famous for its architectural elegance
and also for the wealth of its citizens, its
educational advantages and its profitable
commerce.
Formerly Commercial Center.
Fifty or sixty years ago it was the great
est commercial center north of Mobile, in
Alabama, and planters from the central
and northern parts Of the state came here
to sell their cotton and buy their supplies,
"SAC transported between luSCd-
loosa and Mobile by steamboats, On the
Black Warrior river. Tuscaloosa is the
highest point reached by boats on that
stream now, but by the construction of a
system of locks and dams around the rap
ids,- at the cost of millions of dollars, the
government of the United States is en-
deayoring to remove the embargoes of ma
ture and extend the head of navigation to
birmingham, so that the iron and coal of
that city may be sent out to the world by
boat. Tuscaloosa has a peculiar advantage
of lying just where the coal, iron and lime
stone formations meet the rich agricul-
turai lands of the state. North and east
or the city limits are unlimited coal and
mineral deposits now being developed,
while south and west the broad alluyial
bottoms along the streams and the red
clay sou OF the prairies produce great crops
or cotton, corn and whatever else the
planters may care to raise. Just north of
the city is an iron furnace with capacity
of $50 tons of pig iron per day, and fuel for
the citizens Is brought down by boat as
well as by rail from the coal mines above
Senator Morgan, in a recent address to
the students of the university, said: Young
gentlemen, you are standing upon a spot
more favored by nature than any place
upon the face of the globe.'
The federal government has already spent
hundreds or thousands of dollars in the
Improvement of the river at this point and
proposes to spend a million or two more
But the facilities it has provided are not
utilized by the people. They are practically
wasted. They have little value except as
a check upon the railroads. which is not
needed as long as the present railway com
missioners for this state are in power. The
splendid locks and canals that have been
built around the rapids are a source of
great pride and satisfaction, but steamers
seldom pass through them. There are only
two tiny stern-wheelers on the river The
Alert during the season carries cargoes of
cotton to Mobile, and little towboat hauls
coal barges from the mines above the city.
The cifiZanS call fhaSa Tran ar+, az
lines" and at every session OF Congress
clamor for additional appropriations, which
are freely made as the allotment of the
member OF Congress from this district.
Uncle Sam goes on spending his money |
making improvements, but the river COM
merce does not increase. The boats now |
availing themselves of the canals could not |
carry cargoes worth as much as the i'm |
provements cost If they were to be continu- |
ally in motion for a dozen years.
University of Alabama.
The University of Alabama has always |