History of Alabama United States of America

William Bartram, the botanist, who has been mentioned in our remarks upon the aborines of the country, passed through the Creek nation, and went from thence to Mobile. He found that that town extended back from the river nearly half a mile. Some of the houses were vacant, and others were inruins. Yet a few good buildings were inhabited by the French gentlemen, and others by refined emigrants of Ireland, Scotland, England, and the Nortern British Colonies. The Indian trade was under management of Messrs. Swanson and McGillivray. They conducted an extensive commerce with the Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Creeks. Their buildings were commodious, and well arranged for that purpose. The principal houses of the French were of brick, of one story, of a square form, and on a large scale, embracing courts in their rears. Those of the lower classes were made of strong cypress frames, filled in with plaster.

Major Farmar, one of the most respectable inhabitnts of West Florida, who formerly had much to do with the colonial government, resided at Tensaw, in sight of the present Stockton, where once lived the tribe of Tensaw Indians. The bluff sustained not only his extensive improvements, but the dwellings of many French families, chiefly his tenants, while his extensive plantations lay up and down the Tensaw, on the western side. Indeed, all up that river, and particularly on the western branch, were many well cultivated plantations, belonging to various settlers, while others were in ruins, having been abandoned by the French when the English took possession of the country. The plantations on the Mobile river, as seen five years before, have already been mentioned. At one of these Bartram stayed all night, in company with Dr. Grant, a physician of the garrison of Fort Charlotte. The occupant, who was an old gentleman and a famous hunter, annually killed three hundred deer, besides bears, panthers and wolves.

Arriving at Pensacola, Bartram received from Dr. Lorimer, one of the honorable council, much politeness and attention. Mr. Livingston, the government secretary, took him to the department in which he did business. Shortly afterwards, Governor Chester rode by in his chariot, having been upon a morning ride to his farm. He received the learned botanist with cordiality, invited him to remain some time in the country, to make his house his headquarters, commended his laudable pursuits, and offered to defray his expenses in traveling over the country under his jurisdiction.

Oct 1777: Pensacola, at this period, contained several hundred habitations. The governor's place was a large stone building, erected by the Spaniards, and ornamented with a tower. The town was defended by a large stockade fortress, of wood, on the plan of a tetragon with a salient angle at each corner, where stood blockhouses a story higher than the curtains. Upon these, light cannon were mounted. Within this fortress was a small council chamber where the records were kept, also houses for the officers and barracks for the garrison, together with arsenals and magazines. The secretary resided in a handsome and spacious house, as did some eminent merchants and professional gentlemen.

ALABAMA, one of the Southern States of the American confederacy, is bounded on the N. by Tennessee, E. by Georgia, S. by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and W. by Mississippi. It lies between 30° l0' and 35° N. latitude, and between 85° and 88° 30' W. longitude; being about 330 miles in extreme length from N. to S., and 300 miles in its greatest breadth; including an area of 50,722 square miles, or 32,462,080 acres, only 4,435,614 of which were improved in l850.

Population.-The number of inhabitants in the state in 1820 was 127,901; 309,527 in 1830; 590,756 in 1840; and 771,671 in 1850; of whom 219,728 were white males, 206,779 white females, 1047 free colored males, 1225 free colored females, and 171,853 male and 171,037 female slaves. There were 73,786 families, occupying 73,070 dwellings. Representative population 634,514. There were 9084 deaths in the year ending June, 1850, or 12 persons in every one thousand. Of the population in 1850, 237,542 only were born within the state; 182,490 in other states; 941 in England; 3639 in Ireland; 584 in Scotland; 67 in Wales; 49 in British America; 1068 in Germany; 503 in France; 787 in other countries, and 1109 whose places of birth were unknown. There were 308 blind, of whom 164 were whites, 3 free colored, and 141 slaves-211 deaf and dumb, of whom 157 were whites, 1 free colored, and 53 slaves. The number of paupers who had received support in the year ending June 1, 1850, was 363, of whom 11 were foreigners.

Counties.-There are in Alabama 52 counties, viz. Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Benton, Blount, Bibb, Butler, Chambers, Clarke, Choctaw, Cherokee, Coffee, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Dale, Dallas, De Kalb, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hancock, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lowndes, Lauderdale, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marengo, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, and Wilcox.

Cities and Towns.-Mobile is the commercial metropolis of Alabama, with a population of 20,513; the other principal towns are Montgomery, the capital of the state, population 4955; Huntsville, population, 2863; Tuscaloosa, population above 2000. Florence, population about 1200.

Face of the Country, Mountains, &c.-The Alleghany mountains have their termination in the N. part of Alabama, where they become depressed to little more than elevated hills. The state gradually declines from the north to the Gulf of Mexico; being hilly and broken in the centre, and level for 50 or 60 miles from the coast. All the rivers of any magnitude, except the Tennessee, (which makes a bend into the north part of the state,) descend toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Minerals.-Alabama is rich in mineral treasures, particularly in coal , iron, lime, and marble. Red ochre, lead, (scattered about the state in various parts,) and manganese are also met with. Iron is found extensively in Shelby, Bibb, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa counties. Bituminous coal of a superior quality abounds. "A vein of this coal is first seen in the bed of the Black Warrior river, near Tuscaloosa, and pursues a N. E. direction till it crosses the Alabama and Coosa rivers at or just above their falls, and thence probably passes into Georgia." (De Bow's Industrial Resources.) There are salt, sulphur, and chalybeate springs in different sections of the state. Gold has been found in St. Clair county, and a mine was worked there for a short time. Beautifully variegated marbles exist near the head of navigation on the rivers, particularly on the Cahawba, and in Talladega county. Some of these marbles are buff-colored, filled with organic remains, some white and crystalline, and some are black. Statuary granite, said to be the best in the United States, and marble of a superior quality, are found in Coosa county: a more particular notice of these, however, will be given under the head of COOSA.

Rivers, Bays, &c.-The principal bays in Alabama are Mobile bay, extending north 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico; Bonesecour bay, (an eastern arm of Mobile bay,) and Pascagoula bay, or sound, west of Mobile bay. All of these open into the Gulf of Mexico. Perdido bay lies on the boundary line between Alabama and West Florida. All the rivers of Alabama, with the exception of the Tennessee, which makes a sweep into the northern part of the state, and some smaller rivers passing into West Florida, unite their waters in the Mobile river and bay. The Tombigbee comes into Alabama from the N. E. part of Mississippi, receives the Tascaloosa or Black Warrior from the former state, and unites with the Alabama to form the Mobile. The Alabama, in its turn, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa from the north of Georgia, and flows S. W. till it meets the Tombigbee. The Chattahoochee forms the boundary between Georgia and Alabama area for about 150 miles. The Mobile river throws off an arm from its east bank, which flows into the bay at Blakely. The Cahawba joins the Alabama, from the middle of the state. The Escambia, Black Water, Yellow Water, and Choctawhatchee flow from the S. E. of Alabama into West Florida. The Tombigbee is about 500 miles long, and all its course in Alabama is navigable for steamboats. The Alabama, including its head waters, is about 600 miles long, and may be ascended by steamboats to Wetumpka, on the Coosa branch, 460 miles from the Gulf. The Tuscaloosa is about 150 miles long, and is navigable for steamers to Tuscaloosa. The Tennessee has 130 miles of its course in Alabama, but its navigation is here obstructed by the Muscle Shoals, above which impediment it is, however, again navigable.

Objects of Interest to Tourists.-Though Alabama has no mountains of great elevation or stupendous cataracts, she is by no means deficient in objects of interest to the curious and inquiring mind. De Kalb county is tinted for wild and picturesque views; and in Walker county there is a natural bridge, said to be equally curious with the famous one in Rockbridge county, Virginia, while many wild and romantic gorges lie among its hills, which are the highest south of the mountains. There are, in Alabama, a number of mineral springs for the resort of those seeking health or pleasure: Blount's Springs, in Blount county, a fashionable watering place, contains several different varieties of sulphur waters within the space of twenty feet. Chalybeate waters occur at the same place; and other sulphur springs are found in Talladega and Shelby counties. Bladen Springs is also a fashionable watering place. There are salt springs in Clarke county, now abandoned. The beautiful varieties of marble already mentioned as existing in Talladega and Coosa counties, are now attracting much attention, and are well worthy of the notice of tourists.

Climate, Soil, Productions.-Approaching to within 7° of the tropics, Alabama is allied in its climate and productions to the torrid zone. The rivers here seldom freeze in winter, and the summer heats are mitigated by the breezes from the Gulf of Mexico. According to meteorological observations made at Eutaw, in Greene county, in the years 1850-51, the maximum temperature of the three winter months was 82°, the minimum 18°; the mean temperature at 3 o'clock P. M. 48° 25'. The maximum of the spring months was 93°, minimum 22°, average 62° 20'. The maximum of the summer months was 104°, minimum 60°, mean 81° 49'. The maximum of November, 82°, the minimum 19°, mean 51° 90'. The bottom lands are unhealthy near the rivers and the Muscle Shoals, but the climate in the uplands is salubrious. Alabama has, in many parts, a soil of exuberant fertility; yielding more cotton, the great staple of the South, than any other member of the confederacy. Even the low mountains of the north have fine grazing lands, while the flats between them are very rich in soil. The central part is occupied by fertile prairies; and the southern, though often sandy and inferior in productiveness, has many fertile alluvial bottoms, which yield rice. In Marengo and Greene counties were formerly extensive canebrakes, which are now nearly cleared, disclosing some of the best lands in the state. Sugar-cane grows in the S. W. neck between Mobile bay and Mississippi. Besides the great staple already named, Alabama produces large quantities of Indian corn, oats, live stock, sweet potatoes, and butter; a considerable amount of wheat, rye, rice, wool, hay, peas, beans, Irish potatoes, fruits, market vegetables, and sugar, and some tobacco, barley, buckwheat, wine, cheese, grass seeds, hops, flax, and silk, are raised. Indigo was formerly cultivated, but being undersold by the foreign article, its culture was given up, though not from want of adaptability in the soil. According to the census of 1850, there were in Alabama 41,964 farms, containing 4,435,614 acres of improved land, producing 294,064 bushels of wheat; 28,754,048 of Indian corn; 2,965,697 of oats; 892,701 of beans and peas; 261,482 of Irish potatoes; 5,475,204 of sweet potatoes; 225,771,600 pounds of cotton; 8,242,000 pounds of sugar; 83,428 gallons of molasses; 164,990 pounds of tobacco; 657,118 pounds of wool; 4,008,811 pounds of butter; 2,311,252 pounds of rice; 897,021 pounds of beeswax and honey; 32,685 tons of hay; live stock valued at $21,690,112; orchard fruits worth $15,408; market goods worth $84,821; and slaughtered animals worth $4,823,485; value of farming implements and machinery, $5,125,663.

Forest Trees.-In the central and northern parts of the state, oak of different varieties, poplar, hickory, chestnut, and mulberry are the principal woods, while in the south are cypress and loblolly; pine is abundant south of the mountains.

Animals.-Wild deer and turkeys are plentiful, and bears, wolves, and foxes are still met with.

Manufactures.-But little attention, comparatively speaking, has been paid as yet to manufactures in Alabama; but according to the census of 1850, there were in the state 1022 establishments, each producing annually $500 and upward; of which 12 were cotton factories, employing capital to the amount of $551,900, with 346 male and 390 female hands, consuming raw material worth $237,081, and producing 3,081,000 yards of stuffs, and 790,000 pounds of yarn, valued at $382,200; 14 forges, furnaces, &c., employing capital to the amount of $230,125, and 266 male hands, consuming raw material worth $111,855, and producing 2537 tons of castings, pig, and wrought iron, valued at $280,876. Capital invested in distilleries $500, hands employed 2, product 3000 gallons. There were also 149 tanneries in Alabama, employing $200,570, consuming raw material worth $158,247, and producing leather valued at $335,911.

Internal Improvements.-There were in Alabama, in January, 1853, 135 miles of railroad completed, and 945 in course of construction. One connecting Montgomery with West Point; another extending from Tascumbia to Decatur; and 33 miles of the projected railway from Mobile to the Ohio are completed. Those that are projected or in course of construction are designated as the Memphis and Charleston, the Alabama and Mississippi, the Girard and Mobile, the Tennessee and Selma, and the Alabama and Tennessee railroads.-See Table of Railroads, APPENDIX.

Commerce.-This state enjoys great advantages for both foreign and internal commerce, her ports being open to the sea through Mobile bay, and having more than 1500 miles of steamboat navigation on her rivers, giving an outlet not only to her own productions, but also to some of those of Mississippi and Georgia. According to De Bow, there were 549,499 bales of cotton brought to Mobile in 1851-2, besides what was sent to New Orleans and the ports of Florida. The exports of Alabama in 1851 were $18,528,824, imports $413,446. Tonnage owned in 185l, 21,327.08; number of vessels built in the state, 5, whose tonnage was only 354.62. Considerable quantities of sawed lumber and staves are exported from Mobile to Cuba, to Mexico, and to domestic ports. The sawed lumber exported in 1850-51 amounted to 6,816,054 feet, and of staves 360,779.

Education.-In 1850 there were 127,390 children in Alabama, of whom only 35,039 were attending schools. The common-school fund in 1852 was $1,075,818, and the university fund $250,000. There are four colleges in the state, with an aggregate of 349 students, and 21,100 volumes in the libraries; and one law school. The state university of Alabama, located at Tuscaloosa, is in a very flourishing condition, with an annual income of $15,000.-See Table of Colleges, APPENDIX.

Religious Denominations.-Of the 1235 churches in Alabama, in 1850, 505 belonged to the different divisions of Baptists; 13 to the Christians; 16 to the Episcopalians; 531 to the Methodists; 150 to the Presbyterians; and 5 to the Roman Catholics; the rest were owned by the Africans, the Free Church, Independents, Lutherans, Unionists, Unitarians, and Universalists.-See Table of Religions, APPENDIX.

Public Institutions.-There is a state penitentiary at Wetumpka, which had 151 prisoners on October 1st, 1851. Provision has been made by the state for the establishment of a state lunatic asylum at Tuscaloosa. A blind asylum has been recently established at Mobile, and $5000 have been appropriated by the legislature for organizing and sustaining an institution for the deaf and dumb. The buildings of the Alabama university, near Tuscaloosa, are very fine, and cost $150,000. The other public buildings, not strictly state institutions, will be described under the head of the respective towns in which they are situated.

Government.-The governor of Alabama is elected for two years by the people, and receives an annual salary of $2500. The senate consists of 33 members, elected for four years, and the house of representatives of 100 members, elected for two years, both by the people. The pay of members of both branches is $4 per diem. One-half of the senate is elected every second year. The legislature meets biennially. The judiciary consists, 1. Of a supreme court, composed of one chief and four associate judges, elected by the legislature for six years, and receiving $2250 per annum; 2. Of a court of chancery, composed of three chancellors, elected in the same manner; 3. Of nine circuit courts, holding two sessions a year in each county; 4. The city court of Mobile. The judges of probate, who are also clerks of the court and registers of deeds, are, as well as the circuit judges and the judges of the Mobile court, elected by the people for six years. All these judges receive $1500 per annum except the judge of the Mobile court, who receives $2000. The assessed value of property in Alabama in 1850, was $219,476,150; estimated value $228,204,332. Public debt $6,742,339, of which $1,087,501 was contingent. Ordinary annual expenses, exclusive of debt and schools, about $100,000. The number of banking institutions, January, 1852, was only two, with a capital of $2,000,000, a circulation of $3,500,000, and $1,800,000 in coin.

History.-The famous exploring expedition of De Sore across the southern part of the (present) United States, about the year 1541, is believed to have been the first visit of the white man to the wilds of Alabama. De Soto met with fierce opposition from tribes of savages, who appear to have been more populous and less rude than the northern aborigines. He is said to have nearly annihilated a tribe numbering many thousands, and to have destroyed their capital, Maubilia. He then advanced into the forests, crossing the Tuscaloosa river, (named from the chief of the tribe he had just conquered,) meeting with constant opposition and annoyance from the natives, which resulted in a second engagement within the present limits of Mississippi, scarcely less disastrous than the preceding. The houses of these people evinced less barbarism, as before hinted, than many other Indian tribes. "The chief's house was, in one instance, 120 feet by 40, and included small buildings like offices. A remarkable temple found upon the Savannah river, at Silver Bluff, was 100 feet long, 40 feet wide, and proportionably high." (De Bow's Industrial Resources of the South and West.) The next we hear of the white man in Alabama is in 1702, when Bienville, a Frenchman, built a fort on Mobile bay. The present site of Mobile, however, was not occupied till nine years after. At the peace of 1763, Alabama, with all the French possessions E. of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) fell to the English. This state formed a part of Georgia until 1802; From this date it was included in Mississippi territory till 1817, when it was organized into a separate government, and in 1819 became an independent member of the great American confederacy, and now ranks fourth in population of the Southern states. It was in Alabama that General Jackson first gave practical proof of those great military talents which afterwards so won upon the favour of his countrymen. General Jackson routed the Creeks with great slaughter at Talladega, in November, 1812; General Floyd at Autossee; and General Claiborne at Ecchauachaca, a few weeks after; and General Jackson again at Tohopeka, killing about 600 savages, and reducing them to sue for peace. This war against the Creeks had its origin in the massacre, by that tribe, of about 300 men, women, and children at Fort Mimms, whither they had fled for refuge. They were incited to this savage atrocity by the celebrated Tecumseh, who urged them to take advantage of the war with England to regain independent possession of the land of their fathers.

Biographies:

Rufus W. Cobb, governor of Alabama, was born in Ashville, Ala., Feb. 25, 1829. He attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and was admitted to the practice of law in Alabama in 1855. He was a state senator, 1873-78, and served as president of that body. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1875; and governor of Alabama, 1878-82.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

John Gayle, governor of Alabama, was born in Sumter district, S.C., Sept. 11, 1792. He was graduated from South Carolina college, Columbia, and was afterward admitted to the bar. In 1813 he removed to Mobile, Ala., where he practised law. He was a member of the territorial legislature of Alabama in 1817, solicitor for the first judicial district in 1819, judge of the supreme court in 1823, a member of the lower house of the state legislature and speaker of that body in 1829. He was governor of Alabama, 1831-35; a presidential elector, 1836 and 1840; a Whig representative in the 30th congress, 1847-49, and judge of the U.S. district court of Alabama, 1849-59. He died in Mobile, Ala., in July, 1859.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Joseph Forney Johnston, governor of Alabama, was born in Lincoln county, N.C., March 23, 1843; son of William and Nancy (Forney) Johnston; grandson of Col. James Johnston, of the Revolutionary army; great2 grandson of Gilbert Johnston, who espoused the cause of the Pretender, was wounded at Culleden, fled to America and settled in North Carolina in 1745, his brother Gabriel being the royal governor of the province. Joseph Forney Johnston was educated in the public schools, and at the outbreak of the civil war left the high school, joined the Confederate army, and served as private and officer, 1861-65, reaching the rank of captain and being four times wounded. After the war he was admitted to the bar and practised at Selma, Ala., 1866-84, when he removed to Birmingham, Ala. He was president of the Alabama national bank, 1884-94, and first president of the Sloss Iron and Steel company, 1887. He was elected, as a Democrat, governor of Alabama in 1896, serving 1897-1901.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Hugh McVay, governor of Alabama, was born in South Carolina, in 1788. His father was a soldier in the Revolutionary army and a farmer. Hugh received a limited education, and in 1807 removed to Mississippi territory and settled in Madison as a planter. He represented Madison county in the territorial legislature, 1811-18, and in 1818 on the formation of Alabama territory he removed to Lauderdale county, and in 1819 represented that county in the convention at Huntsville, Ala., that framed the state constitution. He was a representative in the Alabama legislature, 1820-25; a state senator, 1825-37, and 1838-44; and was elected president by the state senate in 1836, defeating Samuel B. Moore by one vote. He became governor of Alabama, ex officio, on the resignation of Governor Clement C. Clay, who was elected to the U.S. senate in June, 1837, and was relieved of his duties in the following December, when Governor Bagby was inaugurated. He married Miss Hawks of South Carolina. He died in Lauderdale county, Ala., in 1851.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Alabama

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