USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 123
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$ 20,000.00
Aug. 2, 1882
$ 7,500.00
Mar. 3, 1881
10,638.30
Below Demopolis:
July 5, 1884
12,000.00
Aug. 2, 1882
$ 5,000.00
Sept. 19, 1890
45,000.00
July 5, 1884
$ 50,000.00
Aug. 5, 1886
56,250.00
Aug. 11, 1888
100,000.00
Sept. 19, 1890
150,000.00
July 13, 1892
200,000.00
Aug. 18, 1894
37,500.00
Mar. 3, 1899
50,000.00
June 3, 1896
75,000.00
Mar. 3, 1899
50,000.00
$ 390,000.00
Above Columbus, Miss .:
June 18, 1878
$ 12,000.00
Mar. 3, 1879
10,000.00
Columbus, Miss., to Vienna, Ala .:
June 14, 1880
$ 12,000.00
Mar. 3, 1881
6,382.98
Fulton, Miss., to Vienna, Ala .:
Mar. 3, 1903
200,000.00
Apr. 28, 1904
225,000.00
Mar. 3, 1905
June 30, 1906
603,466.00
Mar. 2, 1907
350,000.00
May 27, 1908
530,000.00
Mar. 4, 1909
1,000,000.00
June 25, 1910
500,000.00
June 25, 1910
312,000.00
Aug. 24, 1912
465,000.00
Mar. 4, 1913
1,338,500.00
June 23, 1913
485,000.00
Oct. 2, 1914
750,000.00
$7,835,966.00
Black Warrior River, Tuscaloosa to Daniels Creek:
$ 794,250.00
Tombigbee River:
June 10, 1872
$ 10,000.00
Aug. 18, 1894
75,000.00
$ 166,757.12
$ 28,000.00
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
1381
July 13, 1892
75,000.00
Aug. 18, 1894
40,000.00
June 3, 1896
70,000.00
Mar. 3, 1899
220,000.00
$ 492,638.30
Below Tuscaloosa:
Aug. 2, 1892
$ 10,000.00
Aug. 5, 1886
18,750.00
Aug. 11, 1888
18,000.00
June 6, 1900
200,000.00
June 6, 1900 (emergency al-
lotment)
3,691.24
Mar. 3, 1901
240,000.00
$ 490,441.24
Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers:
Aug. 14, 1876
$ 15,000.00
June 18, 1878
28,000.00
$ 43,000.00
Below Tuscaloosa and Demopolis, Ala .: Mar. 3, 1875 $ 25,000.00
Below Columbus: Mar. 3, 1879
$ 20,000.00
Operating and care of locks and dams.
Fiscal year ending June 30-
1897
$ 5,564.43
1898
4,782.01
1899
5,428.92
1900
8,505.24
1901
8,623.76
1902
16,417.87
1903
43,697.33
1904
71,104.16
1905
49,712.48
1906
24,608.58
1907
48,721.15
1908
55,974.58
1909
90,776.78
1910
126,034.46
1911
147,519.83
1912
135,396.26
1913
122,009.05
1914
102,146.30
1915 (to Mar. 4)
107,239.89
$1,174,263.08
Grand total $11,878,227.44
REFERENCES .- U. S. Chief of Engineers, An- nual report, 1875, App. T, pp. 18-29; 1876, App. I, pp. 12-13; 1877, App. I, pp. 416-418; 1878, App. I, pp. 593-594; 1879, App. J, pp. 830-833; 1880, App. K, pp. 1085-1087; 1886, App. P, pp. iv, 1193-1196; 1887, App. Q, pp. 1299-1324; 1888, App. Q, pp. 1198-1203; 1889, App. R, pp. 1433- 1437; 1891, App. Q, pp. 1776-1778; 1893, App. Q, pp. 1751-1757; 896, App. P, pp. 1433-1437; 1897, App. Q, pp. 1667-1685; 1898, App. S, pp. 1434-1440; 1899, App. S, pp. 1730-1783; 1900, App. T, pp. 2167-2202; 1901, App. R, pp. 1816- 1824; 1902, App. S, pp. 1285-1304, with map; 1903, App. T, pp. 309-315; 1904, App. R, pp. 325- 332, 1812-1828; 1906, App. R, pp. 358-361, 1272- 1277; 1908, App. R, 397-400, 406-407; 1909, App. R, pp. 414-425, 1412-1426; 1911, App. R, pp. 495- 508, 702-1717, with maps; 1912, App. R, pp. 612-626, 1921-1938; 1914, App. R, pp. 684-701, 2187-2207; 1915, pp. 760-773, 2531-2549; U. S. Chief of Engineers, Reports upon the survey
and preliminary examination of Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers (H. Ex. Doc. 156, 51st Cong. 1st sess.) ; Ibid, Locks and dams, Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers (H. Doc. 165, 57th Cong., Ist sess.); U. S. Chief of Engineers, Reports on cramination and survey of Mulberry and Locust Forks of Warrior River (H. Doc. 72, 62d Cong., 1st sess.); Senate Committee on Commerce, Report on Black Warrior River; Ala. (Calendar 64, Report 80, 62d Cong., 1st sess.).
WASASA'S VILLAGE. A mixed Creek and Cherokee settlement in Brown's Valley, and near the present line between Blount and Marshall Counties. It was situated at the junction of two trails both leading to Ditto's Landing, one via Brown's Village, and the other by a course bending further to the west.
REFERENCES .- O. D. Street, In Alabama Hls- tory Commission, Report (1901), vol. 1, p. 420; Bureau of American Ethnology, Fifth annual report (1887), plate 8.
WASHINGTON COUNTY. Created June 4, 1800, by proclamation of Gov. Winthrop Sar- gent, of the Mississippi Territory. It is the oldest of the counties and embraced all the country between the Chattahoochee and Pearl Rivers, and the parallel 31° on the south and 32° 28' on the north. It had an area of 300 miles one way and 88 the other. Six- teen counties in Mississippi and twenty-nine in Alabama have since been formed wholly or in part of its original domain. The lower part of its present area was taken from Bald- win in 1820. From 1830 to 1847 it was about 70 miles in length, but the five northern tiers of townships were taken to form Choc- taw. It has an area of 1,050 square miles, or 684,800 acres.
It was named for General George Wash- ington.
The first civil courts in the county were held at McIntosh's Bluff, several miles above the junction of the rivers, in 1803. The courthouse was moved to Wakefield the fol- lowing year. A few years later it was moved to a point about 18 miles northwest- ardly from St. Stephens. It was finally at the latter place for some time.
Location and Physical Description .- It is situated in the southwestern part of the state and is bound on the north by Choctaw County, on the south by Mobile, on the east by the Tombighee River, which separates it from Clarke and Baldwin Counties, and on the west by the Mississippi State line. Its elevations range from about sea level to 400 feet above. This county lies within the Gulf Coastal Plain province. Its topography is varied, ranging from the low flat first bot- toms and level terraces of the Tombigbee River and smaller streams on the east, through the undulating to choppy uplands in the southern and central parts, to the hilly, eroded sections in the northern part. There is a diversity of soils favorable to intensive agriculture. Citrus fruits are being grown in the southern part. The cut-overlands are favorable to live stock industry and sheep-
1382
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
raising holds the highest record of any county in the state. Lumbering and turpentining ranked for some time as the leading indus- tries. There is an abundance of fine lime- stone near St. Stephens. It is well drained by the Tombigbee River and its tributaries, Poll Bayou, Bates', Bilbo's, Johnson's, Little Bassett's, Bassett's, Pine Barren, Santa Bogue, and Tauler's Creeks, and by the Escata wpa River and Red Creek and their tributaries. The forests contain the pine, oak, hickory, beech, ash, cedar, cypress, and the dogwood. The mean annual temperature is about 64° F., and the mean annual precipitation about 58 inches.
Aboriginal History .- The Indians found by the French in Washington County being on the west bank of the Tombigbee were the Tohomees and the Nanihabas. The Tohomee village was about two miles below the mouth of Bassett's Creek, and as McIntosh's Bluff was certainly in their territory their habitat in all probability extended from Bassett's Creek on the north to Bates' Creek on the south. Immediately below the Tohomees were the Nanihabas, who also claimed the land opposite them in the fork of the Alabama and the Tombigbee, whence they were often called by the French "Les gens de la Four- che," the People of the Fork. Nanihaba means "hill above," and the name is still preserved in Nanahubba Bluff. Below the Nanihaba in Mobile County and along Mo- bile River and its islands were the Mobiliens. These three tribes were a Choctaw-speaking people and formed a kind of confederacy, meeting every fall in a common council or congress. They were a thrifty agricultural people and on more than one occasion the French, Biloxi, and Mobile procured from them supplies of corn. The Tohomees were eventually absorbed into the Nanihabas. The consolidated tribe and the Mobiliens kept up their tribal organization until the coming of the English at which time they were prac- tically absorbed into the bulk of the Choc- taw people, as can be seen by the land cession of March 28, 1765.
By the Choctaw cession of April 28, 1765, to Great Britain, all of what is now Washing- ton County south of the Choctaw boundary line, which ran from Hatchatipki Bluff on the Tombigbee to Buckatunna River, became an English possession. This treaty was con- firmed to the United States by the treaty of Fort Confederation, October 2, 1802, when the old Choctaw boundary was marked. The part of the county north of the Choctaw boundary line was acquired by the treaty of Mount Dexter, November 16, 1805.
On both the Alabama and Tombigbee riv- ers are found numerous evidences of aborigi- nal occupancy. Urn-burial is noted in several places and numbers of objects were secured in the county, in 1905, by Dr. Clarence B. Moore. Mounds were investigated near Sinta Bogue Creek, opposite Peavey's Landing, near Bolan's wood yard, near Gaines Landing and several, yielding some very interesting results. At Three Rivers Landing, artificial deformation of the skull was noted and the
custom of placing a bowl over the head of a burial placed lengthwise was met with too, this latter custom being for the first time found east of Arizona. At Choctaw Bluff and Barlow Bend on the Alabama, numbers of stone relics have been secured, at points in- dicative of former town sites. At or near St. Stephens was a Choctaw crossing place, near which was a town called Habuckintopa.
Settlement and Later History .- The first settlement within the area now known as Washington County was made at Old St. Stephens (q. v.).
Wakefield, at one time the courthouse and now a deserted spot, was incorporated in 1805 and laid out on the land of Richard Brashears. John Armstrong, George Brewer, James Denby, Edmund Craighton, and Thomas Bassell were appointed the commis- sioners for regulating the town.
On February 19, 1807, about five miles west of McIntosh's Bluff, Capt. E. P. Gaines, commandant of Fort Stoddert and a file of soldiers met and arrested Col. Aaron Burr, ex-vice president of the United States. He was kept in honorable captivity at the fort for over two weeks. Sent to Richmond, Va., he was tried and acquitted of treason against the United States.
A. P. Lipscomb, Joseph McCarty, James Thomson, Hugh Timmin, John Harris, Fran- cis Boykin, and John Wommack were ap- pointed in 1815 to choose a site for the court- house.
Agricultural Statistics .- From U. S. Census 1910:
Farms and Farmers.
Number of all farms, 1,676.
Color and nativity of farmers:
Native white, 1,024. Foreign-born white, 54. Negro and other nonwhite, 598.
Number of farms, classified by size:
Under 3 acres, --
3 to 9 acres, 113.
10 to 19 acres, 182.
20 to 49 acres, 503.
50 to 99 acres, 303.
100 to 174 acres, 332.
175 to 259 acres, 100.
260 to 499 acres, 85.
500 to 999 acres, 38.
1,000 acres and over, 20.
Land and Farm Area.
Approximate land area, 695,680 acres. Land in farms, 344,620 acres.
Improved land in farms, 42,964 acres.
Woodland in farms, 294,636 acres.
Other unimproved land in farms, 7,020 acres.
Value of Farm Property.
All farm property, $2,935,267.
Land, $1,658,463.
Buildings, $562,038.
Implements and machinery, $160,513.
Domestic animals, poultry, and bees, $554,- 253.
1383
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
Average values:
All property per farm, $1,751. Land and buildings per farm, $1,325. Land per acre, $4.81.
Domestic Animals (Farms and Ronges). Farms reporting domestic animals, 1,593. Domestic animals, value, $539,209. Cattle: total, 18,641; value, $234,108. Dairy cows only, 4,943. Horses: total, 1,608; value, $128,166. Mules: total, 804; value, $92,123.
Asses and burros: total, 5; value $400.
Swine: total, 30,386; value, $58,046.
Sheep: total, 11,355; value, $24,093.
Goats: total, 2,827; value, $2,273.
Poultry and Bees. All poultry, 34,379; value, $11,354. Bee colonies, 2,376; value, $3,690.
Farms Operated by Owners. Number of farms, 1,161.
Per cent of all farms, 69.3.
Land in farms, 316,937 acres.
Improved land in farms, 33,158 acres.
Land and buildings, $1,924,279.
Farms of owned land only, 1,066.
Farms of owned and hired land, 95. Native white owners, 830. Foreign-born white, 48. Negro and other nonwhite, 283.
Farms Operated by Tenants.
Number of farms, 513.
Per cent of all farms, 30.6.
Land in farms, 500 acres.
Improved land in farms, 9,711 acres.
Land and buildings, $272,547.
Share tenants, 139.
Share-cash tenants, Cash tenants, 335. Tenure not specified, 39.
Native white tenants, 193.
Foreign-born white, 5. Negro and other nonwhite, 315.
Farms Operated by Managers. Number of farms, 2. Land in farms, 500 acres. Improved land in farms, 95 acres.
Value of land and buildings, $23,675.
Live Stock Products. Dairy Products.
Milk: Produced, 329,278; sold, 3,702 gal- lons.
Cream sold, Butter fat sold, Butter: Produced, 93,533; sold, 8,674 pounds. Cheese: Produced, 100 pounds.
Dairy products, excluding home use of milk and cream, $23,094. Sale of dairy products, $3,311.
Poultry Products.
Poultry : Number raised, 66,307; sold, 11,771. Eggs: Produced, 151,704; sold, 43,640 doz- ens.
Poultry and eggs produced, $45,005. Sale of poultry and eggs, $10,788.
Honey and Wax.
Honey produced, 14,052 pounds. Wax produced, 684 pounds. Value of honey and wax produced, $1,580. Wool, Mohair and Goat Hair.
Wool, fleeces shorn, 10,221.
Mohair and goat hair, fleeces shorn, Wool and mohair produced, $7,176.
Domestic Animals Sold or Slaughtered.
Calves-Sold or slaughtered, 126.
Other cattle-Sold or slaughtered, 3,790. Horses, mules, and asses and burros- Sold, 147.
Swine- Sold or slaughtered, 6,744.
Sheep and goats-Sold or slaughtered, 676. Sale of animals, $68,171. Value of animals slaughtered, $52,324.
Value of All Crops.
Total, $801,008.
Cereals, $148,148.
Other grains and seeds, $15,432.
Hay and forage, $20,885.
Vegetables, $113,212.
Fruits and nuts, $14,263.
All other crops, $489,068.
Selected Crops (Acres and Quantity).
Cereals: total, 11,973 acres; 153,726 bushels. Corn, 11,341 acres; 144,962 bushels. Oats, 619 acres; 8,428 bushels.
Wheat,-
Rye, -.
Kaffir corn and milo maize, 6 acres; 126 bushels.
Rice, 3 acres; 130 bushels. Other grains:
Dry peas, 665 acres; 6,211 bushels.
Dry edible beans, 5 acres; 125 bushels. Peanuts, 165 acres; 3,759 bushels.
Hay and forage: total, 1,358 acres; 1,614 tons.
All tame or cultivated grasses, 661 acres; 754 tons.
Wild, salt, and prairie grasses, 227 acres; 151 tons.
Grains cut green, 403 acres; 631 tons. Coarse forage, 67 acres; 78 tons.
Special crops: Potatoes, 229 acres; 14,985 bushels. Sweet potatoes and yams, 975 acres; 79,- 145 bushels.
Tobacco, Cotton, 11,146 acres; 4,144 bales.
Cane-sugar, 361 acres; 3,605 tons. Sirup made, 36,554 gallons.
Cane sorghum, 7 acres; 56 tons. Sirup made, 246 gallons.
Fruits and Nuts.
Orchard fruits: total, 43,280 trees; bushels.
9,258
Apples, 2,558 trees; 527 bushels. Peaches and nectarines, 36,365 trees; 2,847 bushels.
1384
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
Pears, 1,586 trees; 5,695 bushels.
Plums and prunes, 2,586 trees; 152 bush- els.
Cherries, 71 trees; 3 bushels.
Quinces, 103 trees; 34 bushels. Grapes, 9,149 vines; 57,056 pounds. Tropical fruits: total, 1,792 trees. Figs, 1,640 trees; 68,970 pounds. Oranges, 5 trees.
Small fruits: total, 4 acres; 9,826 quarts. Strawberries, 4 acres; 9,726 quarts. Nuts: total, 686 trees; 8,960 pounds. Pecans, 605 trees; 3,396 pounds.
Labor, Fertilizer and Feed.
Labor-Farms reporting, 631. Cash expended, $48,706. Rent and board furnished, $10,040.
Fertilizer-Farms reporting, 920. Amount expended, $48,464.
Feed-Farms reporting, 770. Amount expended, $40,577.
Receipts from sale of feedable crops, $2,901.
Domestic Animals Not on Farms.
Inclosures reporting domestic animals, 266. Value of domestic animals, $59,271.
Cattle: total, 1,598; value, $33,143. Number of dairy cows, 362. Horses: total, 139; value, $13,705.
Mules and asses and burros: total, 46; value, $7,600. Swine: total, 1,866; value, $4,575.
Sheep and goats: total, 194; value, $248.
Post Offices and Towns .- Revised to July 1, 1919, from U. S. Official Postal Guide. Fig- ures indicate the number of rural routes from that office.
Acquilla.
LeRoy.
Bigbee.
McIntosh.
Burbank.
Malcolm.
Carson.
Millry-1.
Chatom (ch).
Rutan.
1892-3-L. W. McRae.
1894-5-L. W. McRae.
1896-7-Isaac Grant.
1898-9-Isaac Grant.
1899 (Spec.)-Isaac Grant.
1900-01-W. D. Dunn.
1903-William Dixon Dunn.
1907-Norman Gunn.
1907 (Spec .-
1909 (Spec.)-Norman Gunn.
1911-B. D. Turner.
1915-T. J. Hollis.
1919-T. J. Bedsole.
Population .- Statistics from decennial publications of the U. S. Bureau of the Census.
White.
Negro.
Total.
1830
1,924
1,550
3,474
1840
2,843
2,457
5,300
1850
1,195
1,518
2,713
1860
2,119
2,550
4,669
1870
. 2,125
1,787
3,912
1880
2,807
1,729
4,536
1890
4,686
3,249
7,935
1900
6,106
5,028
11,134
1826-7-Ptolemy T. Harris.
1910
8,218
6,064
14,454
1920
14,279
Delegates to Constitutional Conventions .- 1819-Israel Pickens; Henry Hitchcock.
1861-J. G. Hawkins.
1865-William H. Coleman. 1867-J. J. Gilder.
1875-Robert A. Long (colored).
1901-Dabney Palmer; E. P. Wilson.
Senators .- 1819-20-William Trotter.
1822-3-Francis W. Armstrong.
1824-5-James Taggert.
1825-6 -- William Crawford.
1826-7-Willoughby Barton.
1828-9-Jack F. Ross.
1829-30-James B. Hogan.
1832-3-James B. Hogan.
1835-6-James F. Roberts.
1828-9-Theophilus L. Toulmin.
1839-40-Girard W. Creagh. 1842-3-Girard W. Creagh.
1845-6-B. L. Turner. 1847-8-Girard W. Creagh.
1849-50-C. M. Godbold.
1851-2-Lorenzo James.
1853-4-William Woodward.
1855-6-Thomas McC. Prince.
1857-8-William Woodward.
1861-2-Turner Reavis.
1865-6-John T. Foster. 1868-J. T. Foster.
1871-2-J. T. Foster.
1872-3-S. Walton.
1873-S. Walton.
1874-5-S. Walton.
1875-6-S. Walton.
1876-7-E. S. Thornton.
1878-9-E. S. Thornton.
1880-1-Henry Ware. 1882-3-Henry Ware.
1884-5-W. H. Evington.
1886-7-W. H. Evington.
Copeland.
Saint Stephens.
Cortelyou.
Seaboard.
Deer Park.
Sunflower.
Escata wpa.
Tibbie.
Fairford.
Toinette.
Frankville.
Uniform.
Fruitdale.
Vinegar Bend-1
Hawthorn.
Healing Springs.
Wagar
Hobson.
Yarbo.
Koenton.
Yellow Pine.
Representatives .- 1819-20-John Everett; J. Thompson. 1820-1-James Taggert; B. H. Smoot. 1821 (called) -James Taggert; B. H.
Smoot.
1821-2-James Taggert; J. Thompson.
1822-3-James Thompson. 1823-4-Josiah D. Lister.
1824-5 -- Ruffin.
1825-6-James G. Lyon.
1827-8-Ptolemy T. Harris. 1828-29-Ptolemy T. Harris.
1888-9-J. R. Cowan.
1890-1-J. R. Cowan.
1385
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
1829-30-Jobn Fitts.
1830-1-Ptolemy T. Harris.
1831-2-Ptolemy T. Harris.
1832 (called)-Alexander Trotter.
1832-3-Alexander Trotter.
1833-4-Erasmus G. Callier.
1834-5-Joseph McCarty, jr.
1835-6-Joseph McCarty, jr.
1836-7-John H. Owen.
1837 (called)-John H. Owen.
1837-8-John H. Owen.
1838-9-James G. Slater.
1839-40-William Smith.
1840-1-S. S. Houston.
1841 (called)-S. S. Houston.
1841-2-S. S. Houston.
1842-3-B. L. Turner.
1843-4-B. L. Turner.
1844-5-Thomas McC. Prince.
1845-6-Thomas McC. Prince.
1847-8-James S. Malone.
1849-50-B. L. Turner.
1851-2-B. L. Turner.
1853-4-G. W. Gordy.
1855-6-James White.
1857-8-James B. Slade.
1859-60-James White.
1861 (1st called)-James White.
1861 (2d called)-James B. Slade.
1861-2-James B. Slade.
1862 (called)-James B. Slade.
1862-3-James B. Slade.
1863-4-T. P. Ashe.
1864 (called)-T. P. Ashe.
1864-5-T. P. Ashe.
1865-6-George C. Yonge.
1866-7-George C. Yonge.
1868-
1869-70-J. R. Waldrop.
1870-William W. Bassett (resigned).
1871-William H. Coleman.
1871-2-W. H. Coleman.
1872-3-William Stribling.
1873-William Stribling.
1874-5-W. Stribling.
1875-6-W. Stribling.
1876-77-G. M. Mott.
1878-9-W. C. Stribling.
1880-1-T. J. Mason.
1882-3-Joseph Gresham.
1884-5-J. M. Pelham.
1886-7-W. C. Stribling.
1888-9-H. M. Posey.
1890-1-John Gordon.
1892-3-B. T. Turner.
1894-5-B. D. Turner.
1896-7-B. D. Turner.
1898-9-George W. Sullivan.
1899 (Spec.)-George W. Sullivan.
1900-01-W. Frank Porter.
1903-Hiram Mounger Posey.
1907-Perry Edwards.
1907 (Spec.)-Perry Edwards.
1909 (Spec.)-Perry Edwards.
1911-J. D. Boswell.
1915-R. E. Blunt.
1919-R. E. Blunt.
REFERENCES .- Toulmin, Digest (1823), index; Acts of Ala .; Brewer, Alabama, p. 573; Berney, Handbook (1892), p. 334; Riley, Alabama as it is, (1893), p. 199; Northern Alabama (1888), p.
242; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 216; U. S. Soil Survey, with map; Alabama land book (1916), p. 156; Ala. Official and Statistical Register, 1903-1915, 5 vols .; Ala. Anthropological Society, Handbook (1910) ; Geol. Survey of Ala., Agricultural fca- tures of the State (1883) ; The Valley regions of Alabama, parts 1 and 2 (1896, 1897), and Underground Water Resources of Alabama (1907).
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. See Spe- cial Days.
WATER-BORNE COMMERCE. Alabama's water-borne commerce is, and for many years has been, handled through the port of Mo- bile; hut in the earlier years of the State's history an extensive commerce in cotton and other products was carried in boats on the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans. However, with the construc- tion of railroads, which afforded more direct and more rapid transportation, the commerce converging at Mobile from different sections of Alabama, and from eastern Mississippi, speedily outgrew that carried by the other waterways of the State, both in tonnage and value. Up to 1861 the draft of the largest vessel which had ever entered Mobile Bay and received a cargo was 21 feet, 8 Inches. This vessel was loaded with 5,103 bales of cotton.
Ante Bellum Statistics .- The receipts of cotton at Mobile in 1819 amounted to 10,000 bales; in 1820, 16,000; in 1821, 25,390; in 1822, 45,425. In 1826, 89,000 hales were handled through the port; in 1828, 72,000; in 1829, 103,000, and 1830, 102,000. The volume of this business gradually increased during the next several years, reaching a total in 1837 of 310,000 bales. In 1838 the total was only 246,000, but in 1839 it was 440,000, and in 1842, 481,894 bales. From that time to the outhreak of the War the aver- age annual commerce in cotton at Mobile was 500,000 bales. The exports of lumher from Mobile for the year ending with Sept., 1832, amounted to 1,464,573 feet; in 1846, 3,507,000; in 1850, 7,294,000; in 1854 to 11,000,000 feet.
On the 18th of January, 1860, there were 116 vessels in Mobile Bay-55 ships, 16 barks, 16 brigs, and 29 schooners. The water-borne commerce or shipping of the port of Mobile, so far as figures are available, during the year 1860 amounted to: 870,784 bales of cotton, practically all of which was exported; 7,367,597 feet of lumber; 9,265 barrels of rosin, tar, pitch, and turpentine. During the three years immediately previous the cotton handled through the port had aggregated 507,082 bales in 1857, 523,058 bales in 1858, and 714,404 bales in 1859.
Post Bellum Statistics .- The figures for the four years of the war are not available, but the cotton handled through Mobile in each of the years, 1865 to 1894, inclusive, is shown in the following table: 1865, 75,305 bales; 1866, 429,102; 1867, 239,516; 1868, 366,193; 1869, 230,621; 1870, 306,061; 1871, 404,673; 1872, 288,012; 1873, 332,-
1386
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
457; 1874, 299,578; 1875, 320,822; 1876, 374,672; 1877, 360,918; 1878, 419,071; 1879, 362,408; 1880, 358,972; 1881, 392,- 319; 1882, 265,040; 1883, 313,228; 1884, 254,651; 1885, 236,871; 1886, 248,526; 1887, 216,142; 1888, 207,377; 1889, 229,- 003; 1890, 261,957; 1891, 311,673; 1892, 287,971; 1893, 182,884; 1894, 215,116.
The traffic in tropical fruits through the port has, during the past 25 years, grown to very large proportions. During the year ending August 31, 1893, there were received at Mobile 365,610 bunches of bananas, 2,936,- 415 cocoanuts, 97,399 pineapples, 163,750 loose oranges, 48,725 boxes of oranges, and 75,000 bunches of plantains; during the sim- ilar period in 1893-94, 1,539,344 bunches of bananas, 5,018,150 cocoanuts, 104,810 pine- apples, 613,385 loose oranges, 62,718 boxes of oranges, and 169,175 bunches of plantains.
Total Tonnage, Imports and Exports .- The total water-borne tonnage and value, includ- ing exports, imports, coastwise traffic, haul- age of bunker coal, timber and lumber on the harbor of the port of Mobile for several years was as follows: 1901, 1,896,929 tons, valued at $31,810,167; 1902, 1,990,436 tons, $32,443,230; 1903, 2,132,240 tons, $47,456,- 974; 1904, 2,209,580 tons, $52,853,514; 1905, 3,018,385 tons, $66,086,988; 1906, 2,- 852,985 tons, $62,079,579; 1907, 3,539,854 tons, $64,263,877; 1908, 2,320,507 tons, $61,886,436.
Character of Tonnage .- The exports shown in the preceding list consisted of breadstuffs, coal and coke, cotton and cotton products, hog products, lumber, timber, manufactured goods, live stock, naval stores, staves, and miscellaneous commodities; the imports, of asphalt, bananas, cocoanuts, sisal grass, hardwood, sulphur ore, creosote oil, and mis- cellaneous articles. The coastwise commerce consisted of phosphate, anthracite coal, fish and oysters, cement, gravel, cordwood, lum- ber and timber, crossties, naval stores, logs, cotton, cedar strips, hay and grain, and mis- cellaneous.
Navigation Conditions .- The volume of water-borne commerce in Alabama has been dependent to a marked degree upon the nav- igation conditions of the streams and har- bors. With Mobile, the most potent factor in the development of commerce has been the depth of the channel from the outer bar to the city wharves on Mobile River, a dis- tance of about 30 miles. Previous to the War the growth of the port was gradual and continuous, but after the War the size and draft of vessels rapidly increased, and Mobile began to decline as a port, because the large vessels could not come to her wharves with full cargoes. Relief has been afforded by the United States Government from time to time, by deepening the channel and other im- provements. About 1879 a channel 17 feet deep and 200 feet wide was opened, which was later deepened to 23 feet at low water. In 1910 work was started. on a channel de- signed to be 300 feet wide in the river and 200 feet in the bay, with a depth of 7 feet.
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