History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 37

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756

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REFERENCE .- Romans, Florida (1776), p. 332, map.

CABUSTO. An aboriginal town passed by De Soto in his expedition through Alabama in 1540. It has not been definitely identified, but the best conjectures place it on the west side of the Tombigbee River, in the south- western part of Pickens County. While not certainly determined, the word is dougtless Chickasaw, and the town was probably oc- cupied by Chickasaw people. In the Chicka- saw dialect, ishto, "great," corresponds to the Choctaw, chito. The name is believed to be oka ishto, "great water." In the Knight of Elvas narrative it is stated that "near unto Cabusto runs a great river." The town and vicinity were thus known as oka ishto, "great water," In contradistinction to the settlement on the Sipsey River, which was a "little water."

REFERENCES .- Halbert, in Ala. Hist. Society,

Transactions (1898-99), vol. 3, p. 67; Handbook of American Indians (1907), vol. 1, p. 178; and Narratives of De Soto (Trainmakers' series, 1904), 2 vols.

CAHABA. First State Capital. By an act of the legislature, passed February 13, 1818, Clement C. Clay, Samuel Taylor, Samuel Dale, James Titus and Wm. L. Adams were appointed commissioners to select the most central and eligible location for the seat of government of the newly established Alabama Territory. The commissioners, after investi- gation, reported a site at the mouth of the Cahaba River, in the recently formed county of Dallas, as the most suitable location. Their report was concurred in, and an act was passed November 21, 1818, fixing this locality the permanent capital. The governor was named as commissioner to lay off the town into lots, and to sell them at public sale. By an act of December 13, 1819, Cahaba was fixed on as the seat of justice of Dallas County. The place was, therefore, at the same time the capital of the State and the seat of justice of Dallas County. It became at once a thriving business and an attractive social center.

Governor William W. Bibb, at the session of the legislature, 1819, in his message of October 26, reported that the town had been laid off, and that he had sold to the highest bidder 182 lots during the fourth week of May, 1819, for the sum of $123,856, of which one-fourth or $30,964, was received at the time of sale. The legislature December 3. 1819, incorporated the town, to contain "all that tract of land granted by Congress to this State for the seat of government thereof." It was to be governed by seven councillors elected annually, who in turn were to select an intendant. Willis Roberts, Luther Blake, and Carlisle Humphreys were the managers of the first election. The charter, among other provisions, conferred upon the town council "the privileges of granting license for retailing of spirituous and other liquors, and for keeping billiard tables."

The next day, December 4, 1819, the legis- lature authorized the governor to lay off an additional number of lots in the town, not exceeding 200, to be sold under the same regulations as required by the act of Novem- ber 21, 1818. John Taylor, sr., Alexander Pope, Waller O. Bickley, John Howard, John W. Rinaldi and Thomas Casey were named as commissioners to have charge, under the di- rection of the governor, of the state lands and property within the limits of the town, with the power to rent the lands and the ferries so as best to promote the public interest. The act contained a provision mak- ing it unlawful to "cut down, or kill any tree or trees" on the state lands, without written permission of the commissioners. Two sections of the act are of sufficient in- terest to be set forth in full:

"Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the governor as aforesaid shall select and reserve one square for the use of an academy, one square for a court-house and other public

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buildings for the county of Dallas, and four lots for churches, and the said squares and lots, when so selected and reserved, shall be, and are hereby declared, granted, and set apart for those purposes respectively.

"Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the lot or parcel of land, numbered one hundred and fifty-one in the plan of the town, as now laid off, be, and the same is hereby appropriated and set apart for the erection of such buildings for the accommodation of the executive, as the general assembly may here- after deem necessary and proper."

During the first few years of its history the town was much interested in the con- struction of a bridge across the Cahaba River. The commissioners under the preceding act were empowered to build such a bridge, "within the limits of the town as they may deem best calculated to enhance the value of the lots, lying between the Alabama and Cahawba rivers: Provided said bridge can be built without obstructing the navigation of said river." An appropriation of $4,000 was appropriated for the building of the bridge, and the contractor was to give bond "to keep said bridge up and in good order for the term of seven years." Work seems to have progressed slowly, since the State made a loan to the town December 15, 1820. The special session of the legisla- ture June 16, 1821, passed two acts in refer- ence to the bridge, one placing it wholly under the town council and providing penalties for Injury to it, and the other authorizing the collection of tolls until November 1, 1822.

A bridge was also built across Clear Creek, "within the limits of the town." This, how- ever, was not to be paid for out of the State or town treasury, but through a lottery, a means much employed during that period to raise funds for public purposes. Henry Hitch- cock, Alexander Pope, Thomas Casey, Uriah G. Mitchell, and Edmund Lane were named as managers.

In order to protect the public buildings, the Secretary of State was required to have them "enclosed in a cheap and substantial manner, and to have shutters for the win- dows made and bung," the expenses to be paid from the fund arising from the sale of lots in the town. Another law, approved on the same day, enacted "That the square of lots in the town of Cabawba, bounded west and east by Beech and Ash Streets, and north and south by fifth and sixth South streets, and reserved by the governor for a grave- yard," was vested in the town council for that use. The same act stipulated that the cross streets should be continued in an easterly direction to the margin or the water's edge of the Alabama River, and as such they were declared to be public streets, and the Iand commissioners were required to open and make a good and sufficient ferry landing, and to keep it in repair, on the Alabama River at the foot of Arch Street.

The selection of Cababa as the state capital was not made unreservedly. The constitution required all sessions of the legislature to be held there, beginning in 1820 and con-

tinuing "until the end of the first session" of the legislature to be held in 1825, and during that session the legislature was given "power to designate by law, (to which the executive concurrence shall not be required) the permanent seat of government, which shall not thereafter be changed." The origi- nal choice of Cababa had not long been made before it became apparent that the place had many disadvantages as a town site. Its situation was low, subjecting it to over-flow from both rivers, so that at times it was almost impossible to reach the statehouse without a conveyance by water. In 1825 came the largest flood on record in the his- tory of the state. The almost complete inun- dation of the town hastened the decision of the legislature to choose a new location. Tuscaloosa was selected, and the public offices, property and records were removed.

In consequence of the flood and the re- moval of the capitol, many influential citi- zens left the town, and for a time it dwindled into an insignificant village. But in a few years it began to revive, and by the early thirties it was again a populous town, and the most important shipping point on the Alabama River. Large warehouses and stores were built, old residences repaired, new ones of excellent architectural design erected, and with the coming of many wealthy families, and an unusual number of men eminent in statesmanship, law and medical science, these combined, gave Cahaba an air of prosperity to which no other Alabama town could at that early period furnish a parallel.

"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 visit- ing and entertainment, which was continuous and practically endless."-Fry.

The old state house, the lot of land on which it stood, "together with the appur- tenances thereto belonging," on January 13, 1830, were donated by the state to Dallas County.

It would appear that the act of incorpora- tion had been permitted to lapse, as on De- cember 15, 1830, the legislature passed an act reviving and continuing in force the original charter. The act defined the limits of the town as "all that part of the lands owned by the state lying on the west side of the Cahaba and Alabama rivers." Lorenzo Roberts, Jacob Morgan, Thomas Morong, Bar- tram Robinson and George G. Brooks were appointed to conduct an election for coun- cillors, to be held at the house of John M'Elroy.

Many men prominent in Alabama and na- tional History resided in Cahaba. Of these may be mentioned Moratio G. Perry, George W. Gayle, Jesse Beene, George R. Evans, Lawrence E. Dawson, William L. Yancey, Col. C. C. Pegues, John S. Hunter, P. J. Wood, Gen. Jobn T. Morgan, Judge B. F. Saffold, Daniel S. Troy, Gen. E. W. Pettus, Col. H. R. Dawson, Dr. E. G. Ulmer, Dr. Thomas Casey,

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Dr. Jabez Heustis, Joel E. Matthews, Charles L. Matthews, both millionaire planters, Robert S. Hatcher, Edward M. Perrine and Samuel M. Hill, both merchant princes. Ca- haba was in the zenith of its prosperity at the outbreak of the War in 1861.

The community furnished one full company to the Confederate service, the "Cahaba Rifles," of Company F, 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment-a command that won imperishable renown during the War. Christopher C. Pegues was captain of the company, and early in 1862 he was elected colonel of the regi- ment. He was mortally wounded at Gaines Mill, June 27, 1862, and died July 15, 1862. The military post at Cahaba, was commanded by Colonel Samuel Jones of the 22nd Louisi- ana Regiment. A confederate prison, known as Castle Morgan, was established there in the fall of 1863, and was situated on the bank of the Alabama River. An official re- port of October 16, 1864, shows that it then contained 2,15I Federal prisoners.

In the early part of March, 1865, the place was visited by another disastrous flood. After the waters had subsided, the Federal prisoners were all paroled and sent to Vicks- burg, and the post at Cahaba was abandoned. The flood, followed soon after by the close of the War, and by the freedom of the slaves, involving the utter demoralization of labor, brought about the rapid decline of Cahaba. The end came in 1866 when the court house was removed to Selma, under an act of De- cember 14, 1865. Many of the citizens of Cahaba removed also. Others moved to dis- tant localities, and a few years later Cahaba, once one of the most noted towns of central Alabama, was left empty and desolate.

The town was given the name of the river, at the mouth of which it was located. The Cahaba River (q. v. ) rises in the northern section of the state, and flows southerly until its junction with the Alabama. The name is doubtless of great antiquity, although the first known reference to it is on Danville's map of 1732 as Caba. On De Crenay's map one year later, it is spelled Capo. It later appears, usually in its present form, but in early American times it is spelled Cahawba. The word is undoubtedly a corruption of the Choctaw oka aba, "water above," that is, oka, "water," aba, "above." If this genesis is cor- rect, the name was received from Choctaw speaking people, living on the lower Alabama in colonial times. Indian remains have been found in the vicinity, and an Indian village was undoubtedly located on or near the original site. Both along the Alabama and the Cahaba rivers in the vicinity are numerous evidences of Indian residence.

See Cahaba Old Towns; Cahaba River; Ca- haba Valley; Capitals; Dallas County; Lafay- ette's Visit.

REFERENCES .- Brewer, Alabama, pp. 208, 209; Mrs. Amelia G. Fry, Memories of Old Cahaba, 1908; Hawes, Cahaba, A story of captive boys in blue (1888) ; Official War Records, vol. vii, pp. 998-1001; Acts, Territorial Legislature, Feb., 1818, pp. 94-95; Nov., 1818, pp. 46-49; Acts of Ala., 1825-26, p. 12; 1829-30, p. II; 1830-31, p. 37;

1865-66, pp. 464-466; Toulmin, Digest (1823), pp. 115, 692, 693, 814-827, 913, 921.

CAHABA COAL FIELD. See Coal.

CAHABA COAL MINING CO. See Tennes- see Coal, Iron & Railroad Co

CAHABA OLD TOWN. An old Indian town, so designated on early maps, and lo- cated in Perry County. It is on the west side of the Cahaba River, north of and near the mouth of Old Town Creek, and about two miles above Carmack's ferry. It is near the Marion and Centerville public road. It was probably occupied by an outlying band of Choctaws, although in the Creek territory. Extensive local traces of occupation are found. To the south ahout 3 miles, on the old Ford plantation, is the site of Athahatchee (q. v.), one of the villages passed by DeSoto. The name of the creek suggests its origin from the name of the town.

REFERENCE .- La Tourrette, Map of Alabama (1838); Smith, Map of Alabama (1891).

CAHABA RIVER. A tributary of the Ala- bama River and a part of the Alabama- Tombigbee drainage system. Its length is about 125 miles, and its average width 400 feet. The river becomes very shallow during dry seasons, consisting of a series of discon- nected pools, separated by stretches of drift, sand bars and shoals. In wet weather, it frequently overflows its banks, inundating a large area of the surrounding country. The Cahaba is formed at the northern boundary of Shelby County by the junction of the East Cahaha and West Cahaba Rivers, which rise in the southeastern part of St. Clair County. It flows toward the southwest as far as Cen- terville, and thence almost due south until it empties into the Alabama River 20 miles helow Selma, at the site of the old town of Cahaha (q. v.) the first capital of the State.

For about six miles above Centerville the hed of the river is Silurian rock. In this for- mation occur the principal deposits of iron ore, marble and limestone. Above this is a narrow strip of sandstone, and beyond that are the coal fields which extend to the river's source and beyond. Below Centerville the bed of the stream, for about 45 miles, is prin- cipally gravel and sand, and for the remain- der of its length is of the Cretaceous forma- tion. Above Centerville the river is a series

of pools and falls, having a fall of 109.2 feet in 21 miles. Below Centerville it is a series of pools and rapids, having a fall of 127.4 feet in 88 miles. The country contiguous to the river originally was heavily timbered, but a considerable portion of it has now been cleared for cultivation. The Cahaba River, with its tributaries, the East Cahaha and West Cahaba, traverse and drain a part of St. Clair, Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Perry, and Dallas Counties.

Originally the Cahaba was so obstructed by snags, logs, sunken trees, overhanging tim- ber, shoals, and reefs as to make navigation exceedingly dangerous during high water and

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impossible during low water. Navigation was also impeded by three bridges which span the river below Centerville. However, trips to that town were made by steamboats of light draft in 1836, 1844, 1845, 1847, and 1849. After the construction of the bridge of the Tennessee & Alabama Central Rail- road, in 1849, navigation of the river ceased until 1880 when a small steamer made the attempt. It proceeded as high as Centerville, and obtained a cargo of cotton, but on the return passage was disabled and capsized.

The first examination of the Cahaba River by Government engineers was made in 1874, and covered the section between Centerville and its mouth. A supplementary examina- tion and survey was made in 1880. In Au- gust, 1882, an appropriation of $20,000 was made by Congress for the improvement of the river up as far as Centerville. The project contemplated securing a channel at least 3 feet deep at low water, 100 feet wide in open river and 60 feet wide through rock and bar cuts. Work was commenced the follow- ing March and continued until June 30. In 1884 an additional $10,000 was appropriated, and in 1886, $7,500, but this last could not be used because of a proviso in the act mak- ing its expenditure contingent upon the con- struction of draw openings in the railroad bridges spanning the river. In 1890 this re- striction was repealed, and in 1892 an addi- tional $7,500 was appropriated, making a total appropriation of $45,000, practically all of which was actually expended upon the improvement of the river but without making it navigable. In 1893 the work was finally abandoned. Since that time several addi- tional fixed bridges have been built across the stream, and no further work has been done on it, although in 1909 another examination was made under act of Congress approved March 3. The engineers reported the Cahaba unworthy of further improvement.

The question of water power development has not entered into the problem of improv- ing the Cahaba for navigation; however, the stream offers good opportunities, particularly above Centerville, for plants utilizing from 500 to 2,000 horsepower. The minimum ag- gregate power possibilities of the stream and its tributaries have been estimated by the United States Geological Survey at about 10,- 000 horsepower. Practically nothing has so far been undertaken in this direction.

Appropriations .- The dates, amounts, and the aggregate of appropriations by the Fed- eral Government for improvement of this stream, as compiled to March 4, 1915, in Ap- propriations for Rivers and Harbors ( House Doc. 1491, 63d Cong., 3d sess., 1916), are shown in the appended table:

Aug. 2, 1882 $20,000.00

July 5, 1884. 10,000.00

Aug. 5, 1886. 7,500.00

July 13, 1892

7,500.00

$45,000.00

REFERENCES .- U. S. Chief of Engineers, An- nual report, 1875, App. T, pp. 13-18; Ibid. 1883, App. M, pp. 995-998; Ibid, 1884-1893, with ap-

pendices; Ibid, Report of examination of Ca- haba River, from its mouth to Centerville, 1910 (in H. Doc. 697, 61st Cong., 2d sess.) ; Hall, Water powers of Alabama (U. S. Geol. Survey, Water supply papers 107; 1904), pp. 118-131; Berney, Handbook (1892), pp. 516-517; Hamilton, Colonial Mobile (1910) p. 188.

History .- The name first appears on Danville's map of 1732, and is spelled Caba. On De Crenay's map the spelling is Capo. The word seems to be a corruption of the Choctaw Oka uba, meaning "water above." If this genesis is correct, the name was re- ceived from Choctaw speaking people living on the lower Alabama in Colonial times. Along the stream in its upper waters are a number of old Creek Indian villages.

See Cahaba; Cahaha Old Towns; Cahaba Valley.

CAHABA TOWNS. Along the Cahaba River, which lay wholly in the Creek Indian territory, and upon some of its larger tribu- tary streams, are to be found evidences of a number of Indian towns and villages. There are references to several of these on old maps. Since they were comparatively far away from the principal Creek settlements on the Coosa and Tallapoosa and the lower Chattahoochee, they were without special historic significance, and very few facts are preserved about them. Many of them are without special designa- tion, other than as old Indian villages. Those of which the names are preserved are briefly referred to in their appropriate alphabetical oder. Of those not named, note should here be made of two villages, located about 12 or 15 miles northeasterly of Birmingham, the one on the east and the other on the west side of the upper waters of the Cahaba. These villages were doubtless small, with crude houses, and were largely temporary or transitory.

See Osoonee Old Town; Penootah; Tula- wahajah.

REFERENCE .- Bureau of American Ethnology, Eighteenth annual report (1899), pt. 2, map 1.

CAHABA VALLEY. This valley separates the Cahaba and the Coosa coal fields and em- braces all the country from Odenville to Montevallo. A continuation of the valley ex- tends as far as Centerville. Its length is about 55 miles; its width nearly 3 miles; its area slightly more than 150 square miles. It is a denuded, unsymmetrical, anticlinal val- ley whose steep strata, on the northwest side, are engulfed in a great fault. Like most of the valleys in Alabama, it is complex, that is, made up of one or more subordinate valleys with ridges between them. One of these val- leys, lying between the chert ridge of the Knox dolomite and the edge of the Cahaba field, is known as O'Possum Valley; the other, lying between the chert of the Knox dolomite and Little Oak Mountain, is in the Cahaba Valley proper. In the Cahaba Valley there are representatives of all the Paleozoic rocks, from the Cambrian to the Coal Measures.

The Cahaba Valley, with its subordinate valleys, and the Cahaba coal field, are drained

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by the Cahaha River (q. v.) and its numerous tributary creeks and branches. The Cahaba Valley in its upper part runs nearly north- east-southwest, but below Helena it turns nearly southward to Montevallo. It embraces parts of St. Clair, Jefferson, Shelby, and Bibb Counties.

The surface of the country included in the Cahaba Valley is hilly, and in places decidedly broken. The soils are mainly of the DeKalb fine, sandy loam, and, in a general way, their character is closely related to and dependent upon the nature of the underlying strata. Some of them have considerable value for agricultural purposes, but others, especially the light colored and poorly drained soils, have a rather low agricultural value.

The chief agricultural products of the farms in the valley are cotton and corn, the former greatly predominating. Small quan- tities of cowpeas, sugar-cane, oats, hay, and other minor crops are grown. All along the Cahaba Valley the area formed by the Knox dolomite is characterized by the occurrence of beds of brown ore or limonite that in many places are of great economic value.

The majority of the early settlers came from the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.

REFERENCES .- Squire, Cahaba coal field (Geol. Survey of Ala., Special report 2, 1890), passim; McCalley, Valley regions of Alabama, Pt. 2, Coosa Valley (Geol. Survey of Ala., Special report 9, 1897), p. 21; Berney, Handbook (1892), pp. 426-430; U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Soil Surveys, Soil survey of Bibb County (1910).

CAHAWBA AND MARION RAIL ROAD COMPANY. See East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company.

CAHAWBA, MARION AND GREENSBORO RAIL ROAD COMPANY. See East Tennes- see, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company. 1

CALEBEE, BATTLE OF. An engagement between the Georgia militia, under Gen. Floyd, and the Creek Indians, January 27, 1814, on Calebee Creek, about 7 miles from the present town of Tuskegee, Macon County. After the battle of Autossee, November 29, 1813, and his retreat to Fort Mitchell, Gen. Floyd remained inactive about 6 weeks. On receiving necessary supplies, and recruiting his forces, with about 1,227 men, a company of cavalry, and 400 friendly Indians, he set out on another campaign. He moved along the line of the old federal road, establishing Fort Bainbridge in Russell, and Fort Hull in the Macon County. News was received that the Indians were fortifying themselves in large numbers at Hoithlewallee. On January 26 he encamped in a pine forest, upon the high land bordering Calebee Swamp. The hostile Indians were on the same date en- camped in what was subsequently known as McGirth's Still House branch. Here they

held a council Their numbers had increased to 1,800 warriors, probably the largest force assembled during the Creek war. Many were without guns, and were armed with war-clubs,

bows and arrows. William Weatherford was present and addressed the council. He pro- posed that the Indians wait until Gen. Floyd's army had crossed Calehee Creek. Weather- ford's advice was rejected, and he left the council, and started back to Polecat Spring. About an hour and a half before daybreak on the morning of January 27, the Indians stealthily approached the camp, fired upon the sentinels and made a fierce rush upon the main body. A general action immediately followed. Although surprised, Gen. Floyd's troops were quickly organized, and with the aid of the cannon repulsed them. The Indians made desperate efforts to capture the can- non, and in consequence the artillerymen suf- fered very severely. While the redsticks were thus bravely fighting, the friendly Indians with the exception of Capt. Timpochee Bar- nard and his Uchees, acted in a cowardly way. About daylight Gen. Floyd reorganized his lines, and ordered a general charge. The Indians gave way before the bayonet, and they were pursued through the swamp by the cavalry, by some of the rifle companies and by some of the friendly Indians. The Indian losses are not known, but 70 bodies were found upon the field. The American loss was 17 killed, and 132 wounded. The friendly Indians lost 5 killed and 15 wounded.

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 37

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 756

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756