St. Stephens Historical Park – St. Stephens, Alabama
History is available in many different venues in Alabama; you can enjoy so many different places and sites while learning about the states history. One of the delightful places to visit, with so much history to learn about, is the St. Stephens Historical Park. This 200 acre park includes a 90 acre quarry lake with white-sand beaches, walking trails through the streets of Old Capital Town and camping, boating and more.
The town site of Old St. Stephens is an important historical and archaeological site in Alabama. Beginning in the 1790’s until it’s decline in the 1820’s the community help a Spanish fort, and American fort, a trading post and was the Alabama Territorial capital.
Because St. Stephens was on a high bluff along the Tombigbee River with rocky shoals the boats that were traveling north from Mobile could go no further. This meant that the community grew. Americans poured into the frontier settlement and by 1796 over 190 white inhabitants and some 97 slaves were living around the fort. By the Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain turned the fort over to the U.S. government on February 5, 1799.
When the first state assembly adjourned at St. Stephens in 1818 the political maneuverings would see that the capital was moved. Loss of the capital was not the only problem experienced by St. Stephens. The development of shallow draft boats permitted travelers to traverse the shoals and venture further upriver. And in the doomed town, yellow fever outbreaks began to afflict the citizens.
There is only one map of the town of St. Stephens as far as anyone knows. It isn’t a scaled drawing (it was drawn from memory in 1899, two decades after the town’s most active period and following it’s demise.)
There is an archaeological dig going on at the site which began in 1995. Excavations found a portion of a limestone block building where many artifacts were recovered including pearlware ceramics, bone-handled knife fragments, glass beads, bottle fragments and gunflints. It is believed this building is from the early 1800’s. The digs continue with the goal being to complete a map of the entire town site. Future plans will include excavations of some of the building sites in town and further work at the limestone block structure on the riverbank.
For information concerning park hours, prices, and availability please contact sshc@alabama.gov
Related posts:
About Editor
Comments