Spring 2006 Newsletter
Edition No. 21 April 24, 2006Upcoming Events
Prairie Bluff Historical Tour
There will be a special on-site historical tour and meeting at Prairie Bluff on Thursday, May 4, 2006 starting at 10:30 A.M. The meeting is being hosted by John and Gail Henderson, and will be held at their new home located on Shell Creek. You get to their home by taking Highway 28 west to the Prairie Bluff sign, then follow the new road into the subdivision, bear right, and then bear right again on Weslyn Way and you will run into the home lot. Following the meeting, John and Gail will conduct an on-the-ground tour of old Prairie Bluff. If you have never toured the old town site, and seen the old cotton warehouse foundation and cotton slide to the Alabama River, you are in for a real treat. In addition to the Prairie Bluff history presentation and tour, Lula Lee Tait will give a brief summary of the 100 th anniversary celebration for Camden National Bank to be held on Sunday afternoon, May 7. An old photograph of the original bank building, circa 1920, is contained on the back page.
Following is a summarized account of the history of Prairie Bluff written by Jane McDonald Henderson and Bob Henderson.
After the Creek Indian War of 1812, the
soldiers who returned home from the eastern
colonies, told glowing stories of the fertile land of Prairie
Bluff, Wilcox County, Alabama with its rich black soil mixed
with lime and the beautiful green pastures. As a result, land hungry settlers
and adventurers flocked to Wilcox County. Prairie
Bluff was settled in 1815 several years before Alabama became a state on
December 13, 1819. It became one of the greatest and wealthiest of the now
forgotten river towns in Alabama. The name
was changed to Daletown in 1822 to honor the great Indian fighter Sam Dale of
Georgia, and was officially known as
Daletown for the next 16 years at which time the name reverted to Prairie
Bluff. Sam Dale and two associates first acquired land and divided it into
town lots. It featured well defined streets named Bluff, Commerce, Second,
Wilcox, etc. The town was able to serve the
river boats with storage facilities for 3,000 barrels of
"up-freights", 3,000 bales of cotton awaiting shipment, and provide
boat passengers with finest overnight
accommodations in Holt’s Hotel.
By 1843, Prairie Bluff was the largest town in Wilcox County and it almost
became the capital of the State. When heavy floods made it
necessary to move the State Capital from Cahaba, Prairie Bluff and
Tuscaloosa were the chief contenders for the honor of being the seat of state
government. Tuscaloosa won by a single vote! During this time, Prairie Bluff
was one of five major trading posts from Mobile
to Cahaba. Three postal routes led from Prairie Bluff to Cahaba, St. Stephens,
Greensboro, and Uniontown, and Prairie Bluff was
also the shipping point for goods shipped to Tuscaloosa.
In the 1830's,40's, and 50's, Wilcox County became an important duchy of the
vast southern cotton empire, producing thousands of tons of the "white
gold". As a result, cultural life began to flourish and
Prairie Bluff became a social hub. Lafayette Lodge, the first Masonic
Lodge in the county, was built in 1826. Apparently, it was named
in commemoration of the famous French General Lafayette who traveled down the
Alabama River in April 1825. Civilization continued
to flow in and out along the course of the historic Alabama River.
By 1880, there were 16 large business houses, many of them brick,
and paved streets. Some of remains of the foundations of the old
buildings and of the brick streets can be seen even now.
Ironically there were 13 saloons and no churches during this era! It has been
suggested that this may have been the reason for the demise of
the town, but in reality the changing mode of transportation lessened
the importance of the river towns, and Prairie Bluff gave way to the changing
times.
Pine Apple Front Porch Tour
This annual event, sponsored by Pine Apple Promotions, will be held on Sunday, May 28. The attached leaflet provides details of the tour. Please note that several of the homes will have open parlors, and that there is one very historic home that has not been featured on previous events. This is the historic Kelley-Hawthorne house, the boyhood home of General John Herbert Kelley, Alabama’s "Boy General" during the Civil War. Also, there are different homes in the Pine Apple National Historic District that are featured this year. This is a special event, so please make plans to attend.
Wilcox True Blues Flag Project
As reported in the previous Newsletters, the flag is nearing completion of the restoration process in Maryland. When it is returned to the Department of Archives and History, it will be available for display at our historical events. Our Alabama Department of Archives and History is one of, if not the best, facility in America. The Friends of the Archives is a vital arm of the ADAH, and you are encouraged to join. Please contact Garland Smith or Don Donald, current Directors of the Friends of the Archives for more information.
Wilcox Historical Society.....dedicating to preserving the history of Wilcox County, Alabama.
P.O. BOX 464, CAMDEN, AL 36726 ~ PHONE 334-682-9825 ~ FAX 334-682-9387
E-MAIL: grsouth@frontiernet.net