IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact:
Andi Martin, Marketing and Public Relations Manager
andi.martin@ahc.alabama.gov, 334-230-2680
September
27, 2019
Alabama Historical
Commission Honors State Bicentennial with “From Wilderness to Statehood:
Celebrating Cahawba”
(Montgomery, AL) On Friday,
October 4, from 10am – 2pm, the Alabama Historical Commission (AHC), in
conjunction with the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, is hosting a special
ALABAMA200 event honoring the first permanent state capital at Cahawba.
“Old
Cahawba is a very special place. The beautiful ruins and landscape tell the
story of Alabama’s early beginnings. In this bicentennial year, we know it’s
important to honor where you’ve been, so you know where you’re going,” said Governor
Kay Ivey. “We celebrate Cahawba and honor those who came before us to
establish the foundations of our great state. Alabama’s success story is her
people, the resilience and dedication of all the men and women who have brought
us to this point and the future Alabamians who will carry us for generations to
come.”
Cahawba
holds many secrets like Alabama’s first Statehouse, a nearly two centuries-old
mystery until AHC archaeologists uncovered the foundation remnants. As a
special commemoration of Alabama’s bicentennial, elected officials and
dignitaries will be on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony for the future site
of a Statehouse ghost structure, a steel outline representing the original
statehouse, which will serve as a trail head pavilion for a new multi-use trail
funded through an Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
(ADECA) grant.
“Over
the last year, we have been celebrating our 200th anniversary of statehood
throughout the state, but few places are more historically significant than
Cahawba. It is very special to be able to visit our state’s first permanent
capital in this bicentennial year,” said Senator Arthur Orr, Alabama
Bicentennial Commission Chairman. “It is even more impressive to see
how much we have learned about the original capitol building, thanks to the
efforts of the Alabama Historical Commission. The Statehouse ghost structure
will give people a rare glimpse into what our seat of government actually
looked like 200 years ago.”
“From Wilderness to
Statehood: Celebrating Cahawba was crafted to highlight the significant
history at Cahawba and the citizens who contributed in shaping our state,” said
Lisa D. Jones, Executive Director of the Alabama Historical Commission.
“Through the historic preservation efforts of so many, we have a beautiful park
where we can walk the same streets as those who came before us. The
bicentennial is a momentous occasion to honor our people and share our
stories.”
Throughout the event, visitors
can enjoy cemetery tours, historical vignettes, wagon tours, or elect to
explore the beautiful landscape on foot or bicycle.
Live musical entertainment will
be provided by Karren Pell and the Old Alabama Town Revue Crue; Christina
Weerts; and R.B. Hudson Middle School.
Representatives
from the Office of Archaeological Research at The University of Alabama
will be on site at Cahawba’s New Cemetery to discuss the cultural resources
survey conducted in 2016 and current cemetery restoration. AHC staff will
join them to give a short workshop on cemetery preservation.
Another exciting element of the event is the premiere of an orientation video to
enhance the interpretation of Old Cahawba. This video will utilize current
footage, historic images, and architectural renderings to give visitors a
glimpse of Cahawba as it was, and help visitors link the relic landscape to the
history of the site.
Cahawba’s
timeline is teeming with noteworthy residents who were history-makers and
boundary-breakers. During the event, reenactors bring history alive with
vignettes from Cahawba’s past, so visitors can meet some of the fascinating
individuals whose lives represent various periods at the site.
Governor
William Wyatt Bibb,
Alabama’s first Governor, will share his thoughts about designing Alabama’s
first statehouse and Cahawba’s very unusual town plan. Jesse Beene,
an early settler from Tennessee, describes the frontier capital of Cahawba as a
“community of strangers” in a speech given to celebrate the 4th of
July 1820. Union Soldiers were held captive during the Civil War at Cahawba
in 1865 will share letters to home. Jesse Chisholm Duke was a successful
editor of newspapers and the first president of the “Southern Negro Press
Association” will share the opportunities and dangers he encountered while
moving from slavery to freedom at Cahawba. Regarded as the Pinnacle of
Women’s Power in the A.M.E Church, Sara J. Duncan was born in
Cahawba shortly after emancipation to formerly enslaved persons. She will
share information about how she and her once enslaved family became leaders in
the church, the community, and state government. In 1913, Attorney Thomas
Walker was the richest and most successful African-American lawyer and real
estate developers in Washington D.C. – also a great philanthropist. He
will relate his path to success, starting with being taught the alphabet by a
“kind-hearted, religiously-disposed white boy” in Cahawba.
The
former antebellum resident of Cahawba who started “Save Cahawba” is Mrs. Anna
Gayle Fry, who will be stationed at the centennial monument along the
intersection of Capital Street and Walnut Street. She will be sharing how the
spirits moved her to write Memories of Old Cahaba and how the Cahaba
Memorial Association was founded in 1926 and will also reflect on the
monument that was erected to honor Alabama’s Centennial. A reenactment of the
infamous 1856 Bell Shoot-out will take place on Vine Street between 1st
and 2nd streets north while Charlie Haynes, Cahawba’s
newspaper editor, will offer a narration about the men involved who will
confront one another once again in showdown-style.
In
contemporary times, the ongoing effort to preserve Cahawba has created many
opportunities to develop relationships with outstanding partners across the
state, many of whom will have a presence in the partner area of the event.
Visitors can engage with the following entities who’ve contributed to Cahawba’s
longevity: The Cahaba Foundation, the Cahaba Advisory Committee, the
Alabama Bicentennial Commission, The Black Heritage Council, The
University of Alabama’s Museum Expedition, Alabama Public
Television/Project Archaeology, Troy State University Anthropology
Department, Alabama Archaeological Society, Forever Wild, Cahaba
Blue Way, and The Nature Conservancy.
Other
vendors for the day include Tally Ho Restaurant Food Truck and Kona
Ice who will be on site serving food.
This
event is free and open to the public.
In 1818,
the Alabama Territorial Assembly met at St. Stephens where
Governor Bibb decided the site of the newly-formed state government would be at
Cahawba. Located at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers in Dallas
County, Cahawba was built upon the remains of an earlier 16th
century Mississippian Indian village; these ancient earthworks were
incorporated into the centerpiece of the capital city. With the dawning of
Alabama’s statehood in 1819, Cahawba was carved out of the wilderness to be the
state's first capital. Although the state changed the location of the capital
in 1826, Cahawba continued to grow into a thriving and wealthy river town. For
a short time after the Civil War, Cahawba attracted emancipated
African-Americans seeking new freedoms. One hundred years before the 1965 Voting Rights
March focused on the Dallas county courthouse in nearby Selma, a brave
community of recently emancipated African-Americans gathered around an older
courthouse at Cahawba. These 19th century citizens exercised their right to
vote and - for a brief time - gained great political power.
Cahawba's African-American majority reshaped Cahawba as they pursued their
dreams of equality.
By the
turn of the century Cahawba’s structures faded into history, but a fervent
effort remained to preserve the ruins and landscape. The site was added to the National
Register of Historic Places in 1973, and in 1975, the authority over the
site was transferred to the AHC, which now maintains the site.
Now an archaeological park, Old
Cahawba’s celebration of living history and Statehouse excavation make “From
Wilderness to Statehood: Celebrating Cahawba” a terrific way to kickstart Alabama
Archaeology Month, which is observed in October.
Archaeology is the study of the
things that were left by people of the past. “Not everyone gets
to write their life story in the history books but all of us leave traces of
our stories behind in the soil, so archaeology allows us a glimpse of
individual stories to which we can often relate on a personal level,” said State
Archaeologist Stacye Hathorn.
Hathorn continued, “Archaeology month is important
because it allows us a platform to highlight and share the stories that we
learn through archaeology and to educate the public about the value of
archaeological sites so that we may preserve them for study in the future.”
Old Cahawba Site Director Linda Derry is excited
to welcome patrons for this special 200-year commemoration. “The bicentennial is a good time to reflect on the
imaginative and symbolic town plan and the statehouse that Governor Bibb
created for us,” said Derry. “And, as the kick-off event for Archaeology Month,
it’s appropriate that we learn what early Alabama mysteries are being solved
through archaeological research.”
Directions
to Old Cahawba:
From downtown Selma, take Highway 22 (Dallas Avenue) west 8.6 miles. Cross over
the Cahaba River and turn left onto County Road 9 and follow this 3.3 miles
until it dead ends. Turn left onto County Road 2 and follow this 1.5 miles
until you see the Visitor Center on the right. Visitor Center Address: 9518
Cahaba Road, Orrville, AL 36767.
To learn more about Old Cahawba, or the Alabama Historical Commission,
please visit www.ahc.alabama.gov.
About
Old Cahawba
Old
Cahawba lies at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers, and from 1819
to 1826 it served as Alabama’s first capital. Today, the Alabama Historical
Commission owns and operates this significant archaeological site.
About
the Alabama Historical Commission
Located in historic
downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission
is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created
by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to
protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to
accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and
promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and, statewide
programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation
activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated
by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov
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