Most of us have heard the phrase, “You can’t get there from here.” And most of the time it is used to indicate a location is hard to reach mostly due to its remote location. If there is one location in Alabama that represents that phrase well, it is the state’s first capital, Cahaba. Odds are, if you asked 10 state residents in which city the state’s first capital was housed they would all get the answer wrong. And that is not an indictment of the lack of historical knowledge held by most people. It is due to the fact that Cahaba, as a city, no longer exists and actually ceased to be a viable community well over 100 years ago. If you do set out on a journey to locate Cahaba, you can find what remains to the southwest of Selma along the confluence of the Cahaba and Alabama rivers. All that remains is a few structural remnants and the memory of a bustling governmental center.

As early as January 1818, the Alabama Territorial Assembly met to discuss the future of Alabama as it applied for statehood. Those delegates gathered at the territorial capital at St. Stephens with the intention of moving the seat of government further inland toward the center of the proposed state. While many representatives favored a move to Tuscaloosa, a contingent headed by Gov. William Wyatt Bibb saw Cahaba as their choice. And what’s more, Bibb secured the site with the promise of a free land grant from the federal government. As a result, the decision was made to settle on Cahaba, and appropriations were set aside to construct the capital building.

Once the state was formally established and the construction of the capital set in motion, the area began to attract businessmen, settlers and planters, all of whom added to the growth of Cahaba. The population was so expansive, early in its existence the city’s residents outnumbered those of the eventual capital of Montgomery. What’s even more interesting is the regions settlers that made Cahaba their home in the 1820s were not the first residents of the area. As a matter of fact, during the Mississippian Period (100 – 1550 AD) the Cahaba area was home to a large village occupied by Indians that were mound builders. The descendants of this group of people became the more widely known tribes of Indians such as the Choctaw and the Creek. The Choctaw continued to live in the area until the great loss of territory after the Creek War ended in 1814. Afterward, the region was opened to white settlement and over time, the planters that came to dominate the region moved in and dramatically changed the landscape.

Ironically, the height of Cahaba’s existence came just prior to its downfall in 1825. Property values had soared after the capitals establishment and business in the new city had grown incrementally each year. The French hero of the American Revolution, Marquis de Lafayette, even made a visit in 1825 while on his triumphant tour of America. Shortly thereafter, the capital was moved to Tuscaloosa leaving the city and its residents searching for an identity. For the next 75 years, the population declined until Cahaba was virtually empty by the turn of the 20th century. The site fell into disrepair until the 1920s, when a memorial organization was established to shed light on the need to preserve what was left of the historic site. Since that time, other individuals and the state government, as well, has met the challenge to keep the history of Cahaba alive. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the area is managed by the Alabama Historical Commission as an archaeological site but with the addition of walking trails, picnic areas and a welcome center.