The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-03


 citizens represented parts in the play threel of them afcsSvards attained high distinction. MT. Fitzpatrick became Governor of Alabama, afterwards Unit ed States Senator; Mir Towns, Governor of Georgia, and Mir. Goldthwaite, Chiei Justice of the Supreme Court of Ala. bama. The most important event oi this period was money. there was q crisis in the affairs of the greatest in. stitution of the State, The Bank. The first of these years mark the height of what has been called Flush Times, ' but the beginning of very hard times the people had lost faith in the Bank, and were suffering from the result of panic. The removal of the State capi- tai to Montgomery, and the General As- sembly of 1s45 and fS46, was the most important event of her advancement and prosperity. The news of the action of the Legislation was received on Jan. 30 1s46, by the Selma stage: there was great rejoicing in the city After near ly thirty years the prophecy of MT. Dexter was to be fulfilled. The houses on Market Street were illuminated in honor of the occasion. Tuscaloosa was deprived of its distinction of the seat Of government and Montgomery chosen, for its superior advantages. In 1s47 the archives were transferred to the new Capitol built near the bank of the Alabama River, on an eminence called Goat Hill" and in 1S47 the first Gen eral Assembly met and organized. Mont gomery at this time was a promising g town, hardly a city in size, but sur rounded by a rich agricultural region, One short railroad was the only sign that it was to become railroad centre, but it profited by the steamboat trade on the Alabama, and already it was notable as the home of some very able men. About this time a mania for ho- tel building seized the capitalists caused the erection of the Exchange Hotel, Madison House and Dexter House. When the work of demolition of the old Exchange Hotel began, one of Montgomerys most ancient land marks passed into history, with some of the great men whom the building 3 had sheltered. The old house was well known by every public man in Ala baula. In its parlors laws of great in terest to the future of the State have been framed. In its rooms distinguish ed men of every calling have slept As the political centre of Alabama 1t has continued only second to the State Cap itol. Sidney Lanier read his original poems for the first time to friends in the Exchange Hotel, and the first Cabi. net meeting was held in the old ordiI nary of the Exchange Hotel Near Montgomery where agriculture was the main industry. where plantations were large, where crops could be raised with unskilled labor, slaves were profit ably employed. In 1852 Louis Kossuth distinguished Hungarian patriot, ad- dressed the citizens in Concert Hall In 1853 the upper artesian we'll on Court Square was completed. In 1854 the city was lighted by gas for the first time. In that year ex-President Fillmore visited Montgomery, and the writer was one of the little girls that strewed flowers in his path, as he pass ed up the walk at the Capitol. In 1856 Ole Bull,' the unrivaled violinist. gave a performance of his skill. In 1857 the ladies of Montgomery held a meeting in Estell Hall to aid in rais- ing funds to purchase the Mt. Vernon estate on the Potomac. Somewhere in the fifties, at soiree in the old Estell Hall Afterwards used as a club room, by one of the popular society clubs of the city). two members of the Nigga zine Club danced the hornpipe and the Highland fling. and no ballet dancer of the present day could equal in charm of manner, or grace of motion. that be- witching Highland lassie. In 184S new railroads were developed, the Legisla- LuTe ueVOtinB BOOO Qeal or tune 10 the consideration of such topics. In December, 1s47, while both houses were in session. fire was discovered in the Capitol over the Representative hall. The flames spread rapidly; most of the archives were saved, but the library was almost totally destroyed and in few hours the State was with out a Capitol. and immediately talk of another change in the seat of govern AAn- 4,l 4 third removal was made, but 1t failed and it was finally voted to build again on Goat Hill" The new Capitol was built in two years, and was ready for use when the session of 1851 began. Then the value of the Union began to be questioned. A State Convention was held in Montgomery and the excitement in other Southern States was intense.
 The beautiful City of Montgomery was the brighest of gems upon the belt of this fertile and happy region. North of her was a rolling country rich in metallic ores, salubrious cli- mate and health giving waters, south of her the broad cotton lands rolled down to meet the pine forest of tim Der. fringed by groves of magnolia and orange. Montgomery in the for ties and fifties differs very widely from the Montgomery we know today, changes have come through the rapid growth of population. A great change came upon this community in the early sixties. it came suddenly with uproar and excitement, but the causes that had brought 1t about. had been at work for many years It was on an eventful Saturday evening, Feb ruary IS. that an immense crowd of human beings. of all classes, sexes and color, thronged the streets of the little City of Montgomery, the Capital of Alabama. The place of this re- markable gathering, was then a small standing at the navigable head of the Alabama River. The occasion of this immense assembly was the arrival of the President Elect of the Confederate tion adopted the ordinance of seces- sion from the Union by a vote of six ty-one to thirty-nine
 It was a time of tremendous excite ment, wild demonstrations greeted the ordinance. On February 4th the dele gates from the other seceeding States met at Montgomery and organized the Confederate States of America. with President. and Alexander Stephens. of Georgia, Vice President. Montgomery became the seat of the new govern ment.
 Jefferson Davis, standing on the portico of the Capitol. took the oath of office; cannon roared. and a new flag floated over the dome, while the null titude shouted wildly. The country of centre. embraced some of the most fer tile and productive land, its mountains rich in coal and iron. its productions of sugar and rice, limited only by the amount of labor It's timber for ship and house building the most valua- ble in the world. Such was the site of the cityl in which was established the government of the Confederate