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memories =01=
Old Cahaba
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"Tomette". July. 31st. 1913.
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ENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02281 8501
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MEMORIES OF
Din Cahaha Ala
BY ANNA M. GAYLE FRY
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR Publishing House of the A. E. Church. Sonth NASHVILLE, TENN., DALLAS, TEX. 1908
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COPYRIGHT, 1905 BY ANNA M. GAYLE FRY
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DEDICATED TO MY FATHER, MY MOTHER AND MY HUSBAND BY ANNA M. GAYLE FRY
INTRODUCTION.
IN the following pages I have been particular in my descriptions of Cahaba, because I wanted to present as nearly as possible a "pen picture" of the place as it existed and the people as I recollect them before time and age shall have entirely obliterated the scenes from memory.
I have faithfully endeavored to describe truthfully each place as it was, the individuals as they appeared, and life as it was lived in the old days.
In doing this, I have attempted to do what others better fitted should have done, for there is no place richer in history and tradition and none more worthy the pen of the most gifted writer.
ANNA M. GAYLE FRY.
Cahaba History.
CAHABA HISTORY.
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AT the foot of the picturesque Cahaba Hills, on the banks of the majestic Alabama, just above the mouth of the beautiful little Cahaba, where their waters glide into each other's embrace on their way to the sea, is located the old, historic town of Cahaba-a place re- plete with romantic interest, and in its mighty ruins a forceful reminder that man, proud man, cannot build against the destructive inroads of time, circumstance, and political influence.
Around this deserted village, this now lonely, neg- lected hamlet, centered some of the most historic char- acters of the South, and it has the proud distinction of having been the first capital of Alabama, after she was admitted into the galaxy of States, when she was yet in her infancy, with her great wealth unknown and her many natural resources undeveloped and un- dreamed of.
From early historians we. learn that, as far back as 1713, the locality at the mouth of the Cahaba River, which from the remains of the old fort and trenches seen there, is thought to be the present site of the town, was one of importance, and was once occupied by the officers of Crozart, a rich merchant of Paris, He received a large grant of land from the French King Louis XV., and established military and trading posts at different points in this country, when it was under French dominion, and is known in history and romance as "The Prince of Louisiana."
THE OLD CAPITOL AT CAHABA AND AVENUE OF MULBERRY TREES.
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Finding the location too unprotected from the bar- barous attacks of Indians, it was abandoned in early days and remained in the unbroken wilds of nature until 1816, when it became among the first election precincts established.
These elections were held at the houses of George Tubs, Joseph Britton, Cap Yost, and a Mr. Federicks, and were precincts of Montgomery County, which at that time embraced all Central Alabama.
At the last meeting of the Territorial Legislature, at old St. Stephens in 1818, a number of new counties were formed, among them Dallas County. At the same time a committee was appointed, under an Act of this Legislature, to select a more central point for the capital of the State of Alabama. C. C. Clay, Samuel Dale, James Titus, William L. Adams, and Samuel. Taylor composed this committee.
When the General Assembly convened at Hunts- ville the following year, the Commissioners reported they had selected a locality at the mouth of the Cahaba River for the capital, and by that Legislature of 1819 the town of Cahaba was incorporated, lots laid out, and a location for the government buildings selected by Governor William Bibb, who appointed Luther Blake, Carlisle Humphreys, and Willis Roberts to hold the first town election.
Cahaba at this early day was not only the capital of the State, but was also the seat of justice of Dallas County, and soon sprung into an important business and social center, despite its unfortunate geographical location. Lying in a valley, the Alabama River in front, with the Cahaba River flowing around the north- western and northern portion of the town, and Clear
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Creek on the west, the place is almost surrounded by streams of water, which become swollen torrents and subject it to heavy overflows during the wet season.
Who the early settlers of Cahaba were in its brilliant capitolian days, and of their life there, little or nothing is known. Few or none of their personalities can now be recalled, and their memories are but a shadowy dream of an almost forgotten past.
Brewer and Garrett mention as belonging to Cahaba in those early times only Jesse Beene, Thomas Casey, and Horatio G. Perry, all prominent men who resided there. It is presumed the Governor's mansion was there, and that it was occupied by Governor William Bibb, Governor Thomas Bibb, Governor Pickens, when they were Chief Executives of the State, and that James J. Pleasants, James I. Thornton, Jack F. Ross, Henry Minor, Samuel Pickens, and Reuben Saffold were all citizens of Cahaba when they were officials of the State ; also Joseph Mays, who, in 1813, had charge of the land office which was located there -but there is no record to tell us in what part of the town these prominent people resided.
In an old account book, dated "Cahaba, 1818-1830," are found a few other names of old residents of Cahaba and surrounding country, which may be of interest to the present generation, as some of those men- tioned are, doubtless, ancestors of those of the same name who still reside in Dallas County. Among them is John Cotton, due for the rent of a house in 1818. Unfortunately the price is not stated to give us an idea of the value of property in the town at that early day, but farther on one Merrett is charged with the lease of two cabins on lot 31, at $7 a month, from
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
which fact Calaba property seems to have brought a good income.
In this book are also found the names of William B. Allen, David Sheppard, N. Cocheron, Samuel Ken- dall, Willis Roberts, John Radcliff, Luther Blake, Car- lisle Humphreys, Shirley Biwell, R. Wade, Peyton King, William Judge, John Gayle, E. W. Saunders, James Welsh, Thomson of Bogue Chitto, Joseph Mays, John McElroy, a "gentleman taylor," Dalton & Riggs, merchants, Campbell & Hanna, lawyers; also William Gill, a lawyer, who owned considerable prop- erty in the town.
In 1820 Cahaba had two newspapers, a land office, State bank, stores, private boarding houses, hotels, schools, and churches we presume, though there is no mention made of a church until later on.
In 1822 a large amount of public land was sold in Cahaba at public outcry. Lands in the vicinity of the town brought $1.25 an acre. In a few weeks these same lands were worth $60 and $70 an acre, and in a few months could not be had at any price. There was a great demand for city lots, and it has been stated that unimproved lots in the central portion of the town in 1822 sold as high as $5,025, and that the sale of 184 lots amounted to over $120,000, which amount was added to the sum set aside by the Legis- lature for government buildings.
The capitol was a solid square brick structure, two stories high, surmounted by an imposing dome, said to be similar in appearance to the old capitol building of St. Augustine, Fla., which was erected in the same year. On either side of the broad hall that ran through the center of the first floor were the executive and
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
State offices. The second floor, composed of two large rooms, was occupied by the Senate and House of Representatives.
The town was now growing and continued to im- prove rapidly until 1825, when the largest flood ever known in the history of this country swept down the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers and completely inun- dated Cahaba. According to tradition, the Legislature was in session when the flood came and the different representatives had to be rowed in boats and landed in the second story of the capitol, to reach the legislative halls. Many of the private residences and public buildings were injured by the overflow, and when a portion of the Statehouse fell Cahaba was no longer deemed safe as the seat of government, and at a meet- ing of the next Legislature, in January, 1826, the capital was removed to Tuscaloosa. Cahaba now be- came almost abandoned.
Though it still remained the county seat of Dallas County, many of the most influential inhabitants moved away and the town rapidly declined. Many of the houses were torn down and moved to Mobile. Many of those left were unoccupied. Rare flowers bloomed in the lonely yards in neglected wild luxuriance. Beautiful climbing roses waved mournfully to the breeze from decaying galleries, and the grass grew in the principal streets as though months had passed since foot had touched it. The place was lonely and deserted.
And this, a few months before, was the gay capital of the State of Alabama, famed for its thrift and in- dustry, its hospitality, and its chivalry! A sad com- mentary on the uncertainty and mutability of human hopes, human endeavors, and human ambition !
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Abandoned to its neglected fate, the little village struggled on until more fortunate days dawned upon it, and after a few years began to rise "Phoenix-like" from its ashes and again assume its old importance. In those early days stagecoaches and steamboats, fre- quently flatboats and barges, were the only mode of conveyance. There were no railroads in Alabama at that time. Indeed, we are told that the longest con- tinuous line of railroad known in the world, even so late as 1836, was from Augusta, Ga., to Charleston, S. C., and that only one hundred and fifty miles long.
Back of Cahaba, and extending into the counties of Green and Perry, were rich lands that were rap- idly being cleared and developed into a productive agricultural country, whose only market was Mobile ; Cahaba was the most accessible point to ship from, and in the early thirties it was the largest and most important shipping point on the Alabama River, and the town was then making rapid strides in prosperity.
Large warehouses were built, old residences re- paired, and new ones erected. With the sound of hammer and buzz of saw people began to again flock there, and the place once more became the mart of a busy community.
In 1830 Campbell and Hanna were still advertised as lawyers at Cahaba ; also Jesse Beene, Horatio Per- ry, James C. Calhoun, Burwell Boykin, and James D. Craig.
In 1832 George W. Gayle is added to the list, with Daniel Coggin, R .. R. Chamberlain, R. E. B. Baylor, William W. Fambro, William Gayle, John R. Hood, Joseph W. Outlaw, William L. Phillips, A. J. Saffold,
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Horace Cone, and James B. Clarke, better known as "Chancellor Clarke."
The prominent physicians at this time were J. F. Heustis, B. H. Hogan, P. W. Herbert, and L. B. Earle. The merchants mentioned are W. L. Dunham and Crocheran & Perine, who settled in Cahaba as early as 1820.
In addition we found the names of the following persons in 1833: John Hardy, John McLoughlin, Tay- lor Rogers, Italus Brown, Thomas J. Froud, B. H. Ruthland, Jesse Ross, James Grumbles, N. Harder, Theosophile Jordon, Mrs. Lilian Huddleston, James Wilson, Robert Nott, John Hill, James Flanegan, T. M. Jackson, Dave Adams, Archebald Fair, Joseph Hildebrand, William Curtis, Joseph Derry, M. A. Parnell, Levi Comolander, A. Avery, Mathew Gayle, Billups Gayle, Alfred Averett, Nathan Jackson, James Nelson, W. Crenshaw, John M. Speed, Mrs. Margaret Blakey, John Cargill, Tom McGowan, John Guiwn, M. Garrett, John Mosely, Smeed, Eliot, McDonald, William Whitehead, John Lovett, William Lovett, Jacob Hoot, Dr. Underwood, Thomas Holiway, H. Kirkland, Dr. Thomas W. Gill, George Mathews, Thomas M. Mathews, Joel E. Mathews, Peter E. Mathews, Daniel Norwood, William H. Norris, and Eathan I. Brown in charge of the land office.
The town continued to grow rapidly until 1833, when another flood swept over the place, and again it was in a measure depopulated, but in a year or two recovered, and in 1836 began to rebuild and im- prove. Some of the old citizens had left never to return, but new people came to take their place.
William L. Yancey was now editing the Cahaba
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Reporter, Ben C. Yancey, William Hunter, and George R. Evans were added to the list of lawyers, and William R. King, at this time Senator, afterwards Vice Presi- dent of the United States, was a frequent visitor in the town. Marant & Warford were among the most prosperous merchants, and J. T. Wilson was in the land office. He was succeeded by J. M. Garland, who also became a resident of Cahaba.
In 1833 a foot bridge spanned the Cahaba River at the foot of Vine Street, the principal business street, and many pretty homes and residences were built in that part of the city known as "Over the Point."
There were still the remains of an old graveyard to be found there, with one tomb protected by an iron fence in a good state of preservation up to the early seventies-the tomb of a Mr. Joseph Derry, one of Bonaparte's soldiers, who came to this country in 1818, with the French exiles who settled at Demopolis. From there he removed to Cahaba and lived "Over the Point."
Bereft of all kindred and utterly alone in the world, this old French gentleman made his home during the latter years of his life at the residence of Dr. T. W. Gill, near his plantation on the Cahaba and Marion road, and died there in 1853 or 1854. His last re- quest was to be taken to Cahaba and buried "Over the Point." This lonely grave was plainly visible from the old ferry road leading from Cahaba to Selma.
In the forties and fifties and up to the early sixties Cahaba was in the zenith of its prosperity. The exact number of the inhabitants of the place cannot now be accurately known. Some claim for it as high as 5,000 inhabitants, others say the population ranged from
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
2,500 to 3,000 residents and never exceeded that number.
But it was not in the numbers, but more the char- acter, of its inhabitants that made the town famous. Its social life, the wealth and intellect of its people. the eminence and influence of its men, the beauty and accomplishments of its women, and the lordly, gen- erous hospitality of the people at large, combined with the highest cultivation and refinement, gave Cahaba a prominence that was unsurpassed by any place in Alabama, or indeed by any place in the South, which fact is conceded by all who were ever familiar with the town in the days of its prosperity.
In his life of William L. Yancey, the author, John W. Duboise, pays Cahaba a beautiful tribute when he says : "In all America, in town or country, no people sat down to more bounteous dinners, served by better servants, on richer mahogany; no people wore more fashionable clothes, rode better groomed horses, wrote a purer vernacular, or spoke it with gentler tones." As it was in 1836, so it continued to the end. In all the Southern country there was not another commu- nity more thoroughly representative of the South's best and highest cultivation than was shown in and around Cahaba.
The people, being generally wealthy, with many slaves and large plantations located near by in the surrounding country, had an abundance of leisure to extend a generous hospitality, which they did in a royal manner, and there was no limit to the round of visiting and entertainment, which was continuous and practically endless.
This mode of life, among an educated and a culti-
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
vated people, led to the development of the highest social life that characterized Calaba until the ruin that overswept the South after the Civil War.
There was found the charm, the romance of the old South, with its feudal institutions, its pride and purity of social life in all of its unbounded hospitality. It was the political center of Alabama, and the most prominent statesmen of the day were familiar figures in the social and business life of the place.
The town was built on the model of Philadelphia. The same style of arranging the streets and the same system of naming them was adopted.
Like Philadelphia, this old Southern capital had its Vine, Walnut, Oak, Mulberry, Chestnut, Ash, Beech, and Pine Streets, that ran north and south.
Capitol Avenue was one of the fashionable resi- dence streets that extended east and west through the center of the town. The streets to the north of it were called First North Street, Second North Street, Third North Street, and so on up to Sixth North Street. Those south of Capitol Avenue were desig- nated as First South Street, Second South Street, and so on to Sixth South Street.
When Cahaba was the capital, the Statehouse stood in the center of the square, on the corner of Vine Street and Capitol Avenue.
As I have before stated, Vine Street was at that time and continued to be the principal business street of the town. It was ornamented by ancient shade trees, gnarled and seamed; china berry, mulberry, and water oaks lined the streets on each side, a custom with most . Southern cities in early days. The place presented quite the air of a city, with paved walks,
LAND OFFICE
VINE STREET BETWEEN CAPITOL AVENUE AND FIRST SOUTH STREET.
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
large public buildings of brick, telegraph office, in- surance office, three well-edited papers, four churches, beautiful private residences, handsome suburban villas, and marvelous overflowing wells, whose waters darted high up in the air and fell in sheets of snowy foam, in sparkling, perpetually flowing streams. There were seventy-five of these wells counted within the cor- porate limits of the town, some of them costing from two to three thousand dollars, and affording quantity of pure sweet water that made them the admiration and envy of the whole country.
There was also a large academy built of brick, "The Cahaba Female Academy," which was exten- sively patronized both at home and by other parts of the State. It contained a fine library and laboratory for philosophical and chemical research that cost sev- eral thousand dollars presented by Mr. Eaton, the first principal. The building was almost a facsimile in style to the old Dallas Academy of Selma, so long used as a courthouse. It was regarded as one of the most important institutions of learning in the State, and in the years that it flourished was in charge of some of the finest educators of the day.
In 1853 Mr. Thomas J. Portis was Principal of the Academy. He afterwards became one of the most prominent lawyers and influential citizens of Cahaba, where he resided until after the Civil War. In 1857- 58 Professor Town became Principal. In 1860 Mrs. Roberson and Mrs. Adams, two accomplished ladies, had it in charge. They were followed by Professor Lowery, an Irish gentleman, reputed to be one of the finest teachers in Alabama. He was succeeded by Rev. Powhattan Collins, who taught at Cahaba in 1864-65.
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
Here still resided some of the most prominent law- yers of the South. In the forties and fifties the bar of Dallas County was represented by such brilliant minds as John R. Campbell, Judge George R. Evans, John A. Lodor, Jesse Beene, George W. Gayle, John D. Hunter, Rees D. Gayle, Judge William E. Bird, John Lapsley, A. W. Spaight, William Boyd, Daniel Troy, N. H. R. Dawson, Frank Saunders, P. G. Woods, Reginald Dawson, Orsin Howell, A. H. Jack- son, B. H. Craig, Thomas H. Lewis, P. G. Woods, and many others whose names have passed into the limitless silence of almost forgotten years, while later on, in 1857 or 1858, the names of E. W. Pettus, John T. Morgan, and John White appear to add an addi- tional luster to the list of scholarly men who at this time made Cahaba their home.
The years have swept ruthlessly over these grand characters, and of those above mentioned Williani Boyd and A. W. Spaight, of Galveston, Tex., and John White, of Birmingham, are all who are now living of this intellectual coterie who marked that brililant epoch of Cahaba history.
In 1852 Judge Rainer occupied the bench of the Probate Court, and continued in office until 1865. when he died, lamented by all who knew him. Bob Roberts was Clerk of the Court from 1852 to 1860. He was a large-hearted man of generous impulses, and made a popular officer, generally beloved, espe- cially by the children, to whom he was always kind aird liberal. He died in the early sixties. Judge James Evans-a man equally beloved-succeeded Mr. Rob- erts in the clerk's office, where he remained until elect-
Bad
THE ACADEMY.
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
ed to fill the vacancy in the Probate Court caused by the death of Judge Rainer.
Abner Brazile was the efficient Clerk of the Circuit Court. Comolander, with his self-important air, was conspicuous as high constable. Many ridiculous jokes were told by the lawyers, illustrative of his bombastic language, and many a hearty laugh enjoyed at his grotesque mistakes.
On one occasion there was an important case to be tried, where the opposing council was anxious for a continuance. Much time had been spent in argument for and against the motion, when some one, tired out with the delay, secretly dropped a pod of red pepper on the stove. Everybody, judge, lawyers, and all the officials of the court, immediately became convulsed with sneezing. As soon as he could control himself, the judge called upon Comolander "to make an in- vestigation, report the cause, and arrest the culprit."
After a long and tedious search, Comolander re- turned to the courtroom and said: "May your honor please, I have made a careful examination of the en- tire premises, and can find no cause for the sneezing except that the whole house is unanimously con- densed." At this amazing announcement court was immediately adjourned amid peals of uproarious laughter.
Warren Andrews, sheriff of the county, was an important figure in all public parades, and Calvin Harris, who succeeded him, also became a resident of the town.
The prominent physicians of those years, the late forties and early fifties, were Dr. John English, Dr. Robert English, Dr. J. Ulmer, Dr. Troy, Dr. C. K.
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Farley, and Dr. Thomas Hunter. In their chosen profession they had few superiors, and were all intel- lectual, cultivated gentlemen of the highest type.
On Vine Street, at the corner of Second North Street, stood the famous old Bell Tavern, a rambling two-story frame building, painted white with green blinds, raised only a few inches from the ground. This building was closely connected with the early history of Cahaba. For years it was the favorite stopping place of the celebrated lawyers when they visited the capital or attended court, and for the politicians and wealthy planters who gathered at this gay little metropolis on their way to Mobile. Here they would spend days, "waiting for the boat," passing the time in playing billiards or a gentlemanly game of poker, where the stakes nightly went far into the thou- sands, and valuable slaves frequently changed masters to satisfy a "debt of honor."
Tradition has it that here too a grand banquet was given to LaFayette when he visited the capital of Alabama in 1825. He remained in Cahaba three days, and was entertained with much pomp and ceremony. A large, beautiful triumphal arch was erected in his honor. It stood in the center of Vine Street between Capitol Avenue and First North Street, immediately in front of where the Saltmarsh Hall was afterwards built, and not far from the artesian well on Vine Street. Through this arch LaFayette passed to the Statehouse, amid the boom of cannon, ringing of bells, and the loud cheers of hundreds who had assembled to do him honor.
The Bell Tavern continued to be the principal place of entertainment during the early fifties. Many were
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MEMORIES OF OLD CAHABA.
the grand balls given there in those olden times! Many were the beautiful belles resplendent in brocaded satin, costly laces and diamonds, who had "tread a measure" with the stately cavaliers of those days, or merrily danced the Virginia reel in that long old ballroom, 'neath the soft mellow light of spermaceti candles or the old-fashioned lard oil lamps, with their ground glass shades. During the Confederate war this old build- ing was used as a hospital, and the ballroom was filled with the long rows of white cots, where the sick and wounded of our own army and those from the prison of Northern soldiers were carefully nursed back to life again, regardless of the flag under which they fought.
On the banks just above the mouth of the Cahaba, and fronting the Alabama River, was one of the most beautiful and elegant homes of early days, the old Crocheran place, which is still standing, though a wreck of its former glory. This house was built by Mr. Henry Crocheran, a prominent gentleman from New York, who married a sister of Mr. Simeon Watts, of Cahaba, and Col. Ed Walls, of Selma, two of the wealthiest citizens of Dallas County.
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