Saint Stephens, Alabama

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Unincorporated town. Originally a location known as Hobucakintopa by the local Indian tribes. The Spanish established a fort here in 1789 and Americans began to settle here. In 1799 the area was awarded to the United States by the Treaty of San Lorenzo. Established in 1881 by the legislature of the Mississippi Territory. In 1817, Mississippi became a state and the Alabama Territory was separated from it. Saint Stephens served as the territorial capital from that year until 1819. After the capital was moved to Cahwaba, a combination of yellow fever and technological developments that allowed travel further up the river caused the city to shrink until by the Civil War it was just a small backwoods town.