Cahawba, Alabama.
Not exactly a world tourist destination, is it? But just about 200 years ago, it was a happening place. A planned community, if you will, in the deep wilderness of what would soon become the State of Alabama.
Let me say that again: Planned community. Wilderness.
The placement was great, at the confluence of the Cahaba/Cahawba and Alabama Rivers. In contrast to most of our day trips, this one took us south. It was really a fitting place for us to visit, given the location of our house now: just a short distance from the Cahaba River, near its beginning. And I grew up in Possum Bend, just a little bit farther down the Alabama River. You can look at an 1822 map of Alabama on the Birmingham Public Library web site, where you’ll find Cahawba not far from “Salma.” But I’m afraid you won’t find even Camden on that map, much less Possum Bend. But you will see Canton, right there in Wilcox County. That surprised me.
The Archaeological Park
There are all sorts of things I could cram onto this page, about the old town, its rise and fall, and the site as it is today. You can read the basic facts on the marker you see in the photo if you click it and enlarge it.
Getting to the site today is pretty easy, particularly if you start out in Selma. Just head west on Alabama 22 and turn left when you see the sign. You’ll get to the Park soon enough, and the first thing you’ll start seeing a few signs, pointing out areas of the old town and helping you find the Visitor Center and parking lot.
St. Luke’s church, across from the Visitor Center, is the only complete building that remains from the old town, and it’s really striking. It’s a Richard Upjohn carpenter Gothic building that was built in the 1850s on a site close to the River. As the town declined, the building was moved in 1887 to a completely different town. Then it was brought back here and reassembled in a new location, safe from river floods, in 2006.
Much of the site has been cleaned up since it was made a public park, but a lot of it is still in the state of almost total decline it reached over decades of neglect. We didn’t have time to go through the whole park, And as some people would say, it was just too damned hot for a couple of seniors to do much outdoors in the middle of the day. Nevertheless, we did walk through the area around the remains of the Crocheron house and look at the river and the artesian well.
However, you’ll have to scroll down below these photographs to read about the reason we were here on this particular day.
Public Archaeology Days
Our vist was planned to coincide with the last of three consecutive Public Archaeology Days sponsored by the Alabama Historical Commission. We had seen a notice on Facebook, and reading about the event reminded us of the great time we had had visiting Moundville last year. Spending some time in the DeJarnete Research Center there was great, and this looked like a chance to learn more about what they do.
The three Public Archaeology Days are a joint project of the Alabama Historical Commission and the University of Alabama’s Office of Archaeological Research. One of the goals was to publicize the work going on there, with some up-to-date surveys being made with ground-penetrating radar. The biggest draw for many people was the opportunity to participate in a real archaeological dig. And that really contributed to accomplishing the publicity goal. What a chance!
Thanks to some lengthy delays driving down Highway 5, caused by some much-needed resurfacing work, Judy and I were late arriving. We checked in, found the meeting place, and though we missed most of the introductions and explanations about the day, we did get to participate in the short walking tour. Linda Derry, the Site Director, led the tour, and we both enjoyed that very much. Especially given the heat (July, Alabama, go figure), her decision to keep things close by was really much appreciated, at least by us.
The walking tour was followed by a time for further descriptions and a question and answer session, again led by Linda, and we really enjoyed that. Of course, being in the shade helped! After that ended we looked at some of the exhibits that had been set up, and watched the people who had come prepared to dig do some of the real work of the day.
We had some other commitments, so we didn’t get to stay for the lecture that afternoon, much to our regret. We really enjoyed the day, though, and participating in the dig looked like it would be something I would enjoy doing.
We’ll go back to the park some time and spend more time looking around and learning more. If Public Archaeology Days are scheduled again, I hope we get to participate in a full day. This one was great, and next time we’ll commit fully to the day.
I just hope it’s in cooler weather!
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