St. Stephens, Alabama
Encyclopedia
St. Stephens is an unincorporated
census-designated place
in Washington County
, Alabama
, United States
. As of the 2010 census
, its population was 495. Located near the Tombigbee River
in the southwestern part of the state, it is composed of two distinct sites: Old St. Stephens and New St. Stephens. The Old St. Stephens site lies directly on the river and is no longer inhabited. It was the territorial capital
of the Alabama Territory
. It is now encompassed by the Old St. Stephens Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
due to its historical importance. "New" St. Stephens is further inland, adjacent to the old site, and is the location of the post office
, Baptist
and Methodist
churches, and residences. It has one building listed on the National Register and another on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
.
bluff that the Native American
s called Hobucakintopa, at a point along the Tombigbee River
where rocky shoals forced boats traveling north from Mobile
to end their journey. As early as 1772, English traveler Bernard Romans noted that "sloops and schooners may come up to this rapid; therefore, I judge some considerable settlement will take place." By 1789 the Spanish
governor of Mobile, Juan Vincente Folch, established a fort and outpost here. By 1796 over 190 white inhabitants, mostly American settlers, and some 97 slaves were living around the fort. By the Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain turned the fort over to the United States
government on February 5, 1799. It was then made a part of the Mississippi Territory
.
The Choctaw Trading House was established in 1803 at St. Stephens, with George Strother Gaines
taking charge of the Choctaw Agency in 1805. He continued to use the old Spanish blockhouse as the agency's store and established a land office in the former warehouse. The home of the former Spanish commandant served as Gaines' residence. In 1811 Gaines constructed what may have been the first brick building built by Americans in Alabama, constructed to serve as a warehouse.
In 1804 Ephraim Kirby
was appointed superior court judge of the Mississippi Territory by President Thomas Jefferson
. In a letter to the president, Kirby described the inhabitants of St. Stephens as "illiterate, wild and savage, of depraved morals, unworthy of public confidence or private esteems, litigious, disunited, and knowing each other, universally distrustful of each other." Despite these supposed shortcomings, the trading post was active in the deerskin trade with the Choctaw
. Pioneer minister Lorenzo Dow
saw these weak points as a challenge, especially when he was asked to leave town. Dow, in a dramatic manner, prophesied the town's demise within a century, that it would become a "roosting place for bats and owls" and a ruin in which "no stone would lie upon another."
Citizens living around Fort St. Stephens requested official recognition from the Mississippi Territorial Legislature, which chartered the town of St. Stephens on January 8, 1807. The charter was amended on December 18, 1811 and the settlement was officially renamed Saint Stephens. St. Stephens had begun to grow by 1815, when the Mississippi Territorial legislature surveyed the town-site and lots were sold. Approximately 40 houses were reported in the town in 1816. Following Mississippi statehood in 1817, the Alabama Territory
was established. St. Stephens served as its territorial capital from 1817 to 1819, a period that saw the town grow at an astounding rate. By 1819 St. Stephens boasted over 500 homes, and approximately 20 stores and commercial establishments, including two hotels, legal and medical offices, a theater.
Among the prominent citizens of St. Stephens was Henry Hitchcock
, first attorney general of Alabama and later chief justice of the state Supreme Court. A post office was established in 1818 and George Fisher carried mail between St. Stephens and Mobile. Thomas Eastin published the Halcyon and Tombeckbe Advertiser, the fourth newspaper established in the Alabama Territory. Eastin described St. Stephens as a town of elegant tree-shaded homes, spacious streets, and genteel citizens. Washington Academy, founded in 1811, was located on a prominent hill in town. The Tombecbe Bank, the first to be chartered in the state, was established by Israel Pickens
, who would later become the third governor of Alabama.
When the first state assembly adjourned at St. Stephens on February 14, 1818, many Alabama residents thought the capital should be moved to a more central location. Tuscaloosa was under consideration when Governor William Wyatt Bibb
made the announcement in 1819 that the capital would be moved to Cahaba
. This spelled certain doom for the town as it was, along with the development of shallow draft boats permitting travelers to pass over the shoals and venture further upriver and yellow fever
outbreaks that further decimated the citizenry.
Within 20 years most remaining residents had moved less than two miles west of the river to settle New St. Stephens, a prominent crossroads served by a railway station. By 1833 the old town-site had become a small village and by the time of the American Civil War
it had been largely replaced by the new site. The old site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1970. The St. Stephens Historical Commission, which oversees the Old St. Stephens Historical Park, was incorporated in 1988 with a mission of promoting and sponsoring historical research and archaeological
studies of Old St. Stephens. In 1999 the Alabama Historical Commission
gave it a grant for archaeological studies, with a goal of completing a map of the old town site, denoting the location of streets, building foundations, cellar depressions, and cisterns, and excavating some of the old building sites.
"New" St. Stephens has one building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the St. Stephens Courthouse
. It was listed on July 3, 1997 and has been restored by the St. Stephens Historical Commission to serve as a visitor center
and local history museum
near the entrance road to the Old St. Stephens Historical Park. Additionally, the St. Stephens Methodist Church building, completed in 1857, was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on March 25, 1976.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
in Washington County
Washington County, Alabama
Washington County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. The county was named in honor of George Washington, first President of the United States of America. As of 2010, the population was 17,581. Its county seat is Chatom. Washington County is a dry county.-History:The area was long inhabited...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
, its population was 495. Located near the Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
in the southwestern part of the state, it is composed of two distinct sites: Old St. Stephens and New St. Stephens. The Old St. Stephens site lies directly on the river and is no longer inhabited. It was the territorial capital
Territorial capital
A territorial capital serves as the seat of a territory. It is usually temporary and changes when the territory is divided into separate districts....
of the Alabama Territory
Alabama Territory
The Territory of Alabama was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 15, 1817, until December 14, 1819, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alabama.-History:...
. It is now encompassed by the Old St. Stephens Historical Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
due to its historical importance. "New" St. Stephens is further inland, adjacent to the old site, and is the location of the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
churches, and residences. It has one building listed on the National Register and another on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage
The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage, commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These properties, which may be of national, state, and local...
.
History
Old St. Stephens was situated on a limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
bluff that the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s called Hobucakintopa, at a point along the Tombigbee River
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. It is one of two major rivers, along with the Alabama River, that unite to form the short Mobile River before it empties into Mobile Bay on the Gulf of Mexico...
where rocky shoals forced boats traveling north from Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
to end their journey. As early as 1772, English traveler Bernard Romans noted that "sloops and schooners may come up to this rapid; therefore, I judge some considerable settlement will take place." By 1789 the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
governor of Mobile, Juan Vincente Folch, established a fort and outpost here. By 1796 over 190 white inhabitants, mostly American settlers, and some 97 slaves were living around the fort. By the Treaty of San Lorenzo, Spain turned the fort over to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government on February 5, 1799. It was then made a part of the Mississippi Territory
Mississippi Territory
The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
.
The Choctaw Trading House was established in 1803 at St. Stephens, with George Strother Gaines
George Strother Gaines
George Strother Gaines was a leader in the Mississippi Territory and in both states formed from it, Mississippi and Alabama. He was a longtime trader among the Choctaws, and was trusted by them...
taking charge of the Choctaw Agency in 1805. He continued to use the old Spanish blockhouse as the agency's store and established a land office in the former warehouse. The home of the former Spanish commandant served as Gaines' residence. In 1811 Gaines constructed what may have been the first brick building built by Americans in Alabama, constructed to serve as a warehouse.
In 1804 Ephraim Kirby
Ephraim Kirby
Ephraim Kirby was a Revolutionary War soldier, published the first volume of law reports in the United States, was the first General High Priest of the Royal Arch Masons of the United States and was the first judge of the Superior Court of the Mississippi Territory.-Early life:Kirby was born in...
was appointed superior court judge of the Mississippi Territory by President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. In a letter to the president, Kirby described the inhabitants of St. Stephens as "illiterate, wild and savage, of depraved morals, unworthy of public confidence or private esteems, litigious, disunited, and knowing each other, universally distrustful of each other." Despite these supposed shortcomings, the trading post was active in the deerskin trade with the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
. Pioneer minister Lorenzo Dow
Lorenzo Dow
Lorenzo Dow was an eccentric itinerant American preacher, said to have preached to more people than any other preacher of his era. He was an important figure in the Second Great Awakening. He was also a successful writer...
saw these weak points as a challenge, especially when he was asked to leave town. Dow, in a dramatic manner, prophesied the town's demise within a century, that it would become a "roosting place for bats and owls" and a ruin in which "no stone would lie upon another."
Citizens living around Fort St. Stephens requested official recognition from the Mississippi Territorial Legislature, which chartered the town of St. Stephens on January 8, 1807. The charter was amended on December 18, 1811 and the settlement was officially renamed Saint Stephens. St. Stephens had begun to grow by 1815, when the Mississippi Territorial legislature surveyed the town-site and lots were sold. Approximately 40 houses were reported in the town in 1816. Following Mississippi statehood in 1817, the Alabama Territory
Alabama Territory
The Territory of Alabama was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 15, 1817, until December 14, 1819, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alabama.-History:...
was established. St. Stephens served as its territorial capital from 1817 to 1819, a period that saw the town grow at an astounding rate. By 1819 St. Stephens boasted over 500 homes, and approximately 20 stores and commercial establishments, including two hotels, legal and medical offices, a theater.
Among the prominent citizens of St. Stephens was Henry Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock
Henry Hitchcock was the first Attorney General of Alabama, having been elected by the Alabama General Assembly in December 1819 in its initial session...
, first attorney general of Alabama and later chief justice of the state Supreme Court. A post office was established in 1818 and George Fisher carried mail between St. Stephens and Mobile. Thomas Eastin published the Halcyon and Tombeckbe Advertiser, the fourth newspaper established in the Alabama Territory. Eastin described St. Stephens as a town of elegant tree-shaded homes, spacious streets, and genteel citizens. Washington Academy, founded in 1811, was located on a prominent hill in town. The Tombecbe Bank, the first to be chartered in the state, was established by Israel Pickens
Israel Pickens
Israel Pickens was an American politician and lawyer, third Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama , member of the North Carolina Senate , and North Carolina Congressman in the United States House of Representatives .Born in Concord, North Carolina, Pickens graduated from Jefferson College Israel...
, who would later become the third governor of Alabama.
When the first state assembly adjourned at St. Stephens on February 14, 1818, many Alabama residents thought the capital should be moved to a more central location. Tuscaloosa was under consideration when Governor William Wyatt Bibb
William Wyatt Bibb
William Wyatt Bibb was a United States Senator from Georgia and the first Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama. Bibb County, Alabama, and Bibb County, Georgia, are named for him....
made the announcement in 1819 that the capital would be moved to Cahaba
Cahaba, Alabama
Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825. It is now a ghost town and state historic site. The site is located in Dallas County, southwest of Selma.-Capital:...
. This spelled certain doom for the town as it was, along with the development of shallow draft boats permitting travelers to pass over the shoals and venture further upriver and yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
outbreaks that further decimated the citizenry.
Within 20 years most remaining residents had moved less than two miles west of the river to settle New St. Stephens, a prominent crossroads served by a railway station. By 1833 the old town-site had become a small village and by the time of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
it had been largely replaced by the new site. The old site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1970. The St. Stephens Historical Commission, which oversees the Old St. Stephens Historical Park, was incorporated in 1988 with a mission of promoting and sponsoring historical research and archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
studies of Old St. Stephens. In 1999 the Alabama Historical Commission
Alabama Historical Commission
The Alabama Historical Commission is the historic preservation agency for the U. S. state of Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission of safeguarding Alabama’s historic buildings and sites. It consists of twenty members appointed by the state...
gave it a grant for archaeological studies, with a goal of completing a map of the old town site, denoting the location of streets, building foundations, cellar depressions, and cisterns, and excavating some of the old building sites.
"New" St. Stephens has one building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the St. Stephens Courthouse
St. Stephens Courthouse
The St. Stephens Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Washington County Courthouse and also known as the St. Stephens Masonic Lodge, is a historic former courthouse building in St. Stephens, Alabama. The Alabama Legislature authorized construction of the building...
. It was listed on July 3, 1997 and has been restored by the St. Stephens Historical Commission to serve as a visitor center
Visitor center
A visitor center or centre , visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to the visitors who tour the place or area locally...
and local history museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
near the entrance road to the Old St. Stephens Historical Park. Additionally, the St. Stephens Methodist Church building, completed in 1857, was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on March 25, 1976.