Cahaba | |
 St. Lukes Episcopal Church, built 1854 at Cahaba; moved to Martin's Station in 1878; returned to Old Cahawba in 21st century | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Selma, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°19′01″N 87°06′05″W / 32.31694°N 87.10139°W |
| Area | 853 acres (345 ha) |
| Built | 1818 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000341[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 8, 1973 |
Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825.[2] It was the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama until 1866. Located at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, the town endured regular seasonal flooding.
The state legislature moved the capital to Tuscaloosa in 1826. After Cahaba suffered another major flood in 1865, the state legislature moved the county seat northeast to Selma, which was better situated.
The former settlement became defunct after it lost the county seat, because it lost associated businesses and jobs. Many people moved to the new seat. Cahaba declined rapidly, although it had been quite wealthy during the antebellum years.
It is now a ghost town and is preserved as a state historic site known as the Old Cahawba Archeological Park. The state and associated citizens' groups are working to develop it as a full interpretive park[3] St. Luke's Episcopal Church was returned to Old Cahawba, and a fundraising campaign is underway for its restoration.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Old Cahawba, Alabama's first state capital, 1820 to 1826". Old Cahawba: A Cahawba Advisory Committee Project. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
- ^ Harris, W. Stuart. Dead Towns of Alabama, pp. 66-67. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1977. ISBN 0-585-26563-1.