Cahaba, Alabama

 town, place with historical importance, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, ghost town

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Ghost town. Chosen as the future site for Alabama's capital in 1818. A statehouse was built here and a grid pattern laid out over the next year. Served as the first permanent state capital from 1820-1825. A major flood destroyed part of the statehouse in 1825 and the capital was moved to Tuscaloosa in January 1826. Remained the county seat of Dallas County for several decades, establishing itself as a cotton shipment center. Used as the site of a military prison during the Civil War. Another flood in 1865 inundated the town and sparked the movement of the county seat to Selma in 1866. Within a decade most of the population had moved, taking businesses and churches with them. Resettled by former slaves in the late 1800s and turned into farmland. By 1903 most of the buildings had been disassembled and shipped to Mobile and Selma for building material. Now only ruins exist. Designated a national historic site by the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Built: 1818
Area: 853 acres
Also known as: Cahawba
Date added to NRHP: 5/8/1973