CahawbaOldphotosEtc.htm

.
.

Old Cahawba
Photos and Comments

.
.

Return to the Official Old Cahawba site Return to Genealogy Homepage Return to Gwin Family Page

This is not the official Cahawba website--for that, please click the above link. Instead, this is my own collection of photos that are not only related to Cahawba but also to my family and ancestors. For a collection of other links that are Cahaba-related, please click here.
Old Cahawba, located in Dallas County, Alabama, has two vitally important and interdependent parts. First, the park itself--site of the first capital of the State of Alabama and the first county seat of Dallas County--is located about five miles southeast of the junction in Beloit of Alabama Route 22 and Dallas CR 9. Second, the historic John Tyler Morgan house--now the offices and headquarters of the Old Cahawba Archaeolgy Project--is located about fifteen miles from the park at 719 Tremont St., Selma, AL.
I'm a Cahawba descendent. Two of my ggg-grandparents, John Gwin and his wife, Jane Walker Gwin, of Sevier and Blount Counties, TN, respectively, and their nine children and their families, were all Cahawba residents, as were Col. Nathaniel Burdine Wilson and his wife, Jane Jones Wilson--two more of my ggg-grandparents, and most if not all of their eleven children and families. The Gwins were in the county both before and after statehood and the Wilsons shortly after.
I hope you enjoy these pictures and can benefit from other pages on my site. Please e.mail me if you have any questions, comments, corrections (data-related, typos, broken links, etc.).
John Gwin

THE OFFICE:
	The Alabama Historic Commission acquired the old John Tyler Morgan homeplace for the offices of the *"Center for Cahawba Archaeology"*.
The Alabama Historic Commission sign out front reads: JOHN TYLER MORGAN HOUSE This was the residence of John Tyler Morgan (1824-1907), one of Alabama's mort honored political and military leaders. Constructed in 1859 by Thomas R. Wetmore, it was purchased by Morgan in 1865 and served for many years as his personal residence. Morgan was a leader in the Secession Convention, ranking second only to William Lowndes Yancey in influence and power of debate. During the war, he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private and promoted throught the ranks to Brigadier General. A practicing attorney, he opposed Radical Reconstruction and in 1876 was elected tgo the U.S. Senate, where his 30-year tenure proved to be one of the longest in history. He is known as the "Father of the Isthmian Canal" and for his services on the Bering Sea Fisheries Commission, which prevented the extinction of seals and other sea life in Pacific waters. National Register of Historic Places 9-27-1972
	One enters through the foyer, graced by the beautiful staircase, clock, and chandelier. The hardwood floors and wood trim almost all original and very well preserved. A conference table in the dining room is surrounded by modest but comfortable seating for visitors, workers, and guests.
Off the foyer to the right is the parlor, which today is Jonathan's office. He serves as everything from receptionist to right-hand man to fill-in-the-blank--and all with a smile! (Real Cahawbans are glad to serve!) Director Linda Derry speaks with him here about a business matter.
	Ms. Linda Derry is the Director of the Cahawba Project and resident archaeologist, historian, and any number of other hard-to-fill positions. One of her highest priority goals right now is acquiring funds for the purchase of more land for the park. Years ago, private parties and other individuals bought parts of the town for their summer or winter homes, fishing camps, etc. When the Alabama Historic Commission created the Cahawba State Park several years ago and brought Linda on board as its director, the acreage owned by the park was much less than it is today, but thanks to her efforts, that acreage has greatly expanded. Nevertheless, the goal of putting all the town's land back into the custody of the park is still a long ways off, and with present budget cutbacks from the state, she's had to not only trim her staff of dedicated workers but also limit her own involvement in her first love of archaeological search and rescue and restoration.
	.
THE PARK:
The sign reads: NEW CEMETERY Burials in this cemetery, which served Cahaba from 1848 to 1900, tell a story of the town in which many deaths resulted from diseases of infancy, childhood, and early adult life, yellow fever being a large factor. Because of proximity to Gulf of Mexico ports, Cahaba had many plagues brought in by a constantly changing population. The famous Bell monument is in this cemetery. Alabama Historical Commission
	On the western edge of town lies this New Cemetery. Many of its denizens' graves are unmarked, many of the stones vandalized over the years. This holy ground is now well maintained, however, by the faithful staff of the Cahawba Project.
While more than four of my kinspeople are likely buried here, there are indeed four whose stones remain intact or partially intact. My ggg-grandmother Jane Walker Gwin, was born ca. 1795, raised, and married 12 Apr 1812 to John Gwin, all in Blount Co., TN. She died sometime between 1864 (when she and her husband negotiated one of their last real estate deals, and the 1870 census, when John alone was living with their son and daughter-in-law, William and RoseAnn Carlisle Jones Wilson Gwin, in Wilsonville, Shelby Co., AL. The stone simply says, "IN MEMORY OF JANE GWIN."
	Buried just west of her is their youngest daughter, Louisa Gwin McKnight, wife of William McKnight, and my own gg-grandaunt. Like her mother's, this stone is also very succinct: "IN MEMORY OF LOUISA A. McKNIGHT." While there is no sign of his grave in that location, this portion of William's uprooted gravestone was found many yards away inside the fence surrounding Dr. Ulmer's and several others' graves. This leads me to believe that he is buried near if not next to Louisa. The remaining bottom of his stone lets us know that it is likely the same in style as the others: "...WM. McKNIGH..." I speculate that all three graves were marked only with these marble headstones; 1. that all were broken by vandals, his being carried to another site; 2. that later visitors found the two women's stones and mounted them atop concrete slabs at their (actual or estimated) gravesites; and 3. that this explains why no slab exists for his grave. It is my future desire to pour a similar or smaller slab west of Louisa's and mount this remaining piece of his stone upon it. I'd also like to pour a fourth slab to the north of all three and mount there a brass memorial plate with known vital information about all three.
The grave of my gg-grandpa William Basset, whose daughter Ida Eliza married John and Jane's grandson, William Sutton Gwin, reads as follows: WILLIAM BASSET BORN AT WORTHING SUSSEX CO. ENGLAND FEB. 21, 1812 DIED MARCH 5, 1866 He was a tailor by trade and is said to have made uniforms for the confederate army. He is also said to have died of smallpox in Cahaba. The grave of his widow, Harriet Bowley Basset, is said to be located near Tilden, AL in southwestern Dallas Co., next to that of their sons, James and John.