Wetumpka, Alabama
Encyclopedia
Wetumpka is a city in Elmore County
, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 5,726.
The city is the county seat
of Elmore County
, one of the fastest growing counties in the state.
The city is considered part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Area
.
Wetumpka promotes itself as "The City of Natural Beauty". Among the notable landmarks are the Wetumpka crater
and the Jasmine Hill Gardens
, with a full-sized replica of the Temple of Hera
of Olympia, Greece
.
place word meaning "rumbling waters", supposedly a description of the sound of the nearby Coosa River
as the water falls over the rapids of the Devil's Staircase. It could be heard for miles before the construction of dams. The Creek named Wetumka, Oklahoma
after their historic village after being forced west to Indian Territory
(present-day Oklahoma), by United States soldiers by the Indian Removal Act
of 1830.
The area around Wetumpka was the heart of the Upper Creek
lands, whose largest towns were located on the banks of the Tallapoosa River
and Coosa River
at Wetumpka and Talisi (now Tallassee
). After moving the 1702 settlement of Mobile
to Mobile Bay
in 1711, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
sent an expedition up the Alabama River to establish a fort in the interior of New France
, both to stop the encroachment of the British and to foster trade and goodwill with the Creek.
He had Fort Toulouse
constructed in 1714, 4 miles (6.4 km) above the Coosa-Tallapoosa rivers' confluence
at the Creek village of Taskigi. Bienville selected this area as a strategic locale for a fortification.
The French traded at Wetumpka and garrisoned Fort Toulouse until 1763, when they ceded the territory to the British following defeat in the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War
in North America). The British included the territory in their province of Illinois
.
, it ceded the territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States in 1783. In 1798 the US made this area part of the Mississippi Territory
, after cessions from the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Between 1800 and 1812, European-American pioneers arrived in increasing numbers from the states, causing growing unrest among the Southeast Indian populations. Relations became increasingly strained. At the same time, there were tensions among the Creek, with young men of the Upper Creek promoting a revival of religion and culture, and the Lower Creek, more influenced by settlement and trade in Georgia, becoming more assimilated. In addition, in 1811, the Shawnee
chief Tecumseh
appealed to the Creek to join his Western Confederacy
to try to drive out and exterminate the settlers.
When in June 1812, the U.S. declared war on Britain, the Upper Creek lost the assistance of the British; but they persisted with war against American settlers in the area. Upon receiving the news of the massacre at Fort Mims, whose refugees included many Lower Creek, settlers appealed for government help. General Andrew Jackson
led a militia from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia and attacked the Creek in Alabama. The path they traveled became known as "Jackson's Trace."
Jackson's forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. He moved on to Fort Toulouse, where he directed its repair. During his absence, the site was renamed Fort Jackson
in his honor. Jackson made the fort his headquarters during the War of 1812, and the newly created Montgomery County held its courts there. The defeated Creek were forced to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson
(1814), which ceded to the United States 23000000 acre (35,937.5 sq mi; 93,077.8 km²) of Creek lands: the remainder of their territory in Georgia and most of central Alabama. After the war, many of Jackson's Tennessee militia returned home, collected their families and belongings, and brought them back to settle near the fort. Migrants rapidly moved into central Alabama from the east and north.
of the Devil's Staircase, the port shipped out cotton bales by steamboats which went downriver to the markets at Mobile for sale.
Wetumpka had become a cotton-made boom town. The new city was divided in half. The part of the city on the eastern bank of the river was commercial, with banks, stores, and hotels, and was located in Coosa County. The western section, in Autauga County
was residential, with houses and churches laid out on a grid pattern of streets.
By 1836, the city's population was 1,200. A New York newspaper declared that "Wetumpka, Alabama and Chicago, Illinois are the most promising two cities of the West." The city commissioned a steamboat
, The Coosa Belle, to ferry passengers and cotton between Wetumpka and Mobile.
The same forces fueling Wetumpka's growth were shifting the balance of power within Alabama. A standoff between the farmers of the northeast Tennessee Valley, centered in the former capital of Huntsville
, and the old mercantile wealth of Mobile
, had resulted in the capital being located for many years at Tuscaloosa
. By 1845, the cotton growers in the interior Black Belt
had become some of the wealthiest in the country, and power was shifting toward the southern and central part of the state. Both the Black Belt cotton barons and the Mobilians wanted the capital moved.
Compromise indicated a new, centrally located capital, on the Coosa Rriver and easily accessible by steamboat. The lead contenders were Wetumpka and the newer city of Montgomery
, a few miles south. Neither city had a majority of support; representatives from north Alabama, enraged that the capital was being moved from Tuscaloosa, were indifferent to either site. Just before the vote, Montgomery lured an expensive French chef
to the new hotel they had built to house the state's representatives if Montgomery were selected. The city distributed elegant menus to the statesmen. The promise of "good eating" swayed the vote, and Montgomery won. That same year, a fire broke out in Wetumpka, burning warehouses and many commercial buildings. The charred bricks were carried downriver to Montgomery to supply the building boom in Alabama's new capital.
and travel up the Coosa
as far as Rome, Georgia
. One famous resident was William Lowndes Yancey
, a firebrand newspaper editor and statesman who was an influential advocate of States' rights
and Southern secession
. In February 1861, representatives from seven Southern states met in nearby Montgomery to form the Confederate government, inaugurating Jefferson Davis as their president on the steps of the Alabama state capitol. The same year saw the majority of the male population of Wetumpka going off to war. Wetumpka was never harmed by Federal troops, who did not arrive in the area until early 1865 and were determined to push quickly on to Montgomery to punish the former Confederate capital before the war ended. Those men who returned after the war came home to a city and a region whose economy had been completely destroyed. In 1866, a Reconstruction government drew up a new plan of counties for the state, and Elmore County was created out of parts of Coosa, Autauga, and Montgomery counties, with Wetumpka as its county seat (Rockford was chosen as seat of the "new" Coosa County). Despite this, the future of the city seemed grim. Before the war, the population had reached more than 3,000. By 1879, it had declined to a scant 619. In 1886, the worst flood in the history of the city inundated the west bank and most of downtown. The bridge connecting the city's two halves was washed away, and more than a year passed before unfortunate Wetumpka was able to fuse itself back together.
and Tallapoosa River
s, where they merge to become the Alabama River
.
The city is situated astride the Fall Line, where the Appalachian foothills give way to the flat Gulf Coastal plain, a fact responsible for much of its natural beauty.
Downtown Wetumpka covers two city blocks, and is bordered on the northwest by the Coosa River. The Bibb Graves
Bridge crosses the river here, and is the city's most recognizable landmark. Directly across the bridge are the city's three antebellum churches, the First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and First Baptist.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.1 km²) of which 8.5 square miles (22 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) (4.49%) is water.
, 32.83% Black
or African American
, 0.40% Native American
, 0.40% Asian
, 0.07% Pacific Islander
, 1.38% from other races
, and 0.94% from two or more races. 2.32% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 1,797 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 62.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 54.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,536, and the median income for a family was $41,500. Males had a median income of $32,403 versus $23,234 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,729. About 7.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
, estimated to be 1000 feet (304.8 m) wide, hit the area about 80 million years ago. The hills just east of downtown showcase the eroded remains of a 5 miles (8 km) wide impact crater
that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater
or astrobleme ("star-wound") for the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock can be found beneath the surface. In 2002, Auburn University researchers published evidence and established the site as an internationally recognized impact crater.
at Olympia
.
Jasmine Hill Photo Gallery
, starts at the Swayback Bridge Trail with a cross country run
, a mountain bike
leg, and paddling
on the Coosa River to finish at Goldstar park in downtown Wetumpka.
The Swayback Bridge Trail is home to the annual mountain bike race "Attack on Swayback".
Wetumpka is popular with white water sports
enthusiasts, attracting paddlers from all over the country. The city hosts the annual Coosa River Whitewater Festival, and was the site of the 2005 U.S. Freestyle Kayaking Nationals. Recently, the Coosa River Paddling Club has constructed Corn Creek Park, which offers public access to the river, along with nature and walking trails.
In May, Wetumpka hosts its annual Confederate History and Heritage Day, when the citizens fly the Stars and Bars
and march through the streets in period customes commemorating the antebellum
period.
on land abutting the city.
of the Alabama Department of Corrections
is in Wetumpka. The prison houses Alabama's female death row. Wetumpka was previously the site of the Wetumpka State Penitentiary
.
The United States Postal Service
operates the Wetumpka Post Office.
Elmore County, Alabama
Elmore County is a county of the State of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General John A. Elmore. As of 2010 its population was 79,303. Its county seat is Wetumpka.This county is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 5,726.
The city is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Elmore County
Elmore County, Alabama
Elmore County is a county of the State of Alabama. Its name is in honor of General John A. Elmore. As of 2010 its population was 79,303. Its county seat is Wetumpka.This county is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, one of the fastest growing counties in the state.
The city is considered part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Area
Montgomery Metropolitan Area
The Montgomery, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan statistical area in central Alabama...
.
Wetumpka promotes itself as "The City of Natural Beauty". Among the notable landmarks are the Wetumpka crater
Wetumpka crater
The Wetumpka impact crater is the only confirmed impact crater in Alabama, United States. It is located east of downtown Wetumpka in Elmore County. The crater is 7.6 km in diameter and its age is estimated to be about 83 million years old based on fossils found in the youngest disturbed deposits,...
and the Jasmine Hill Gardens
Jasmine Hill Gardens
Jasmine Hill Gardens are botanical gardens located on U. S. Route 231 near Wetumpka, Alabama, north of Montgomery, Alabama. The gardens are open to the public most days of the week; an admission fee is charged...
, with a full-sized replica of the Temple of Hera
Temple of Hera (Olympia)
The Temple of Hera is an ancient Doric Greek temple at Olympia, Greece. The Temple of Hera was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century AD, and never rebuilt...
of Olympia, Greece
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
.
Etymology
The name Wetumpka is a historic CreekCreek language
The Creek language, also known as Muskogee or Muscogee , is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee and Seminole people primarily in the U.S. states of Oklahoma and Florida....
place word meaning "rumbling waters", supposedly a description of the sound of the nearby Coosa River
Coosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
as the water falls over the rapids of the Devil's Staircase. It could be heard for miles before the construction of dams. The Creek named Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka, Oklahoma
Wetumka is a city in Hughes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,451 at the 2000 census. It is the headquarters for two federally recognized tribes, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town and the Kialegee Tribal Town...
after their historic village after being forced west to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(present-day Oklahoma), by United States soldiers by the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
of 1830.
French and British colonization
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
lands, whose largest towns were located on the banks of the Tallapoosa River
Tallapoosa River
The Tallapoosa River runs from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, in the United States, southward and westward into Alabama. It is formed by the confluence of McClendon Creek and Mud Creek in Paulding County, Georgia. Lake Martin at Alexander City, Alabama is a large and...
and Coosa River
Coosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
at Wetumpka and Talisi (now Tallassee
Tallassee, Alabama
Tallassee is a city on the Tallapoosa River, located in both Elmore and Tallapoosa counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2000 census the population was 4,934...
). After moving the 1702 settlement of 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 Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
in 1711, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienvillepronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...
sent an expedition up the Alabama River to establish a fort in the interior of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, both to stop the encroachment of the British and to foster trade and goodwill with the Creek.
Fort Toulouse
Fort Toulouse is a historic fort near the city of Wetumpka, Alabama, United States, that is now maintained by the Alabama Historical Commission. The French founded the fort in 1717, naming it for Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse...
constructed in 1714, 4 miles (6.4 km) above the Coosa-Tallapoosa rivers' confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
at the Creek village of Taskigi. Bienville selected this area as a strategic locale for a fortification.
The French traded at Wetumpka and garrisoned Fort Toulouse until 1763, when they ceded the territory to the British following defeat in the Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
in North America). The British included the territory in their province of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
United States rule
After the British defeat in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, it ceded the territory east of the Mississippi River to the United States in 1783. In 1798 the US made this area 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....
, after cessions from the states of Georgia and South Carolina. Between 1800 and 1812, European-American pioneers arrived in increasing numbers from the states, causing growing unrest among the Southeast Indian populations. Relations became increasingly strained. At the same time, there were tensions among the Creek, with young men of the Upper Creek promoting a revival of religion and culture, and the Lower Creek, more influenced by settlement and trade in Georgia, becoming more assimilated. In addition, in 1811, the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
chief Tecumseh
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader of the Shawnee and a large tribal confederacy which opposed the United States during Tecumseh's War and the War of 1812...
appealed to the Creek to join his Western Confederacy
Western Confederacy
The Western Confederacy, also known as Western Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of North American Natives in the Great Lakes region following the American Revolutionary War...
to try to drive out and exterminate the settlers.
When in June 1812, the U.S. declared war on Britain, the Upper Creek lost the assistance of the British; but they persisted with war against American settlers in the area. Upon receiving the news of the massacre at Fort Mims, whose refugees included many Lower Creek, settlers appealed for government help. General Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
led a militia from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia and attacked the Creek in Alabama. The path they traveled became known as "Jackson's Trace."
Jackson's forces won a decisive victory at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. He moved on to Fort Toulouse, where he directed its repair. During his absence, the site was renamed Fort Jackson
Fort Jackson (Alabama)
Fort Toulouse and Fort Jackson are two forts that shared the same site at the fork of the Coosa River and the Tallapoosa River, near Wetumpka, Alabama....
in his honor. Jackson made the fort his headquarters during the War of 1812, and the newly created Montgomery County held its courts there. The defeated Creek were forced to sign the Treaty of Fort Jackson
Treaty of Fort Jackson
The Treaty of Fort Jackson was signed on August 9, 1814 at Fort Jackson near Wetumpka, Alabama following the defeat of the Red Stick resistance by United States allied forces at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. It occurred on the banks of the Tallapoosa River near the present city of Alexander City,...
(1814), which ceded to the United States 23000000 acre (35,937.5 sq mi; 93,077.8 km²) of Creek lands: the remainder of their territory in Georgia and most of central Alabama. After the war, many of Jackson's Tennessee militia returned home, collected their families and belongings, and brought them back to settle near the fort. Migrants rapidly moved into central Alabama from the east and north.
Growth and incorporation
Settlers, mostly from Georgia and the Carolinas, flooded into the fertile land that the Creeks had been forced to abandon. With its strategic location at the conflux of three rivers, Wetumpka quickly became an important center of agricultural trade. The city was formally incorporated in 1834. Cotton was the commodity crop of the new state of Alabama. From the scattered fields and large farms of the interior, it was carted overland to Wetumpka. Located at the fall lineFall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
of the Devil's Staircase, the port shipped out cotton bales by steamboats which went downriver to the markets at Mobile for sale.
Wetumpka had become a cotton-made boom town. The new city was divided in half. The part of the city on the eastern bank of the river was commercial, with banks, stores, and hotels, and was located in Coosa County. The western section, in Autauga County
Autauga County, Alabama
Autauga County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census the population was 54,571. Its county seat is Prattville.Autauga County is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
was residential, with houses and churches laid out on a grid pattern of streets.
By 1836, the city's population was 1,200. A New York newspaper declared that "Wetumpka, Alabama and Chicago, Illinois are the most promising two cities of the West." The city commissioned a steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
, The Coosa Belle, to ferry passengers and cotton between Wetumpka and Mobile.
The same forces fueling Wetumpka's growth were shifting the balance of power within Alabama. A standoff between the farmers of the northeast Tennessee Valley, centered in the former capital of Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, and the old mercantile wealth of 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...
, had resulted in the capital being located for many years at Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
. By 1845, the cotton growers in the interior Black Belt
Black Belt (region of Alabama)
The Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, and part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to Maryland. The term originally referred to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black topsoil developed atop the chalk of the Selma...
had become some of the wealthiest in the country, and power was shifting toward the southern and central part of the state. Both the Black Belt cotton barons and the Mobilians wanted the capital moved.
Compromise indicated a new, centrally located capital, on the Coosa Rriver and easily accessible by steamboat. The lead contenders were Wetumpka and the newer city of Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, a few miles south. Neither city had a majority of support; representatives from north Alabama, enraged that the capital was being moved from Tuscaloosa, were indifferent to either site. Just before the vote, Montgomery lured an expensive French chef
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
to the new hotel they had built to house the state's representatives if Montgomery were selected. The city distributed elegant menus to the statesmen. The promise of "good eating" swayed the vote, and Montgomery won. That same year, a fire broke out in Wetumpka, burning warehouses and many commercial buildings. The charred bricks were carried downriver to Montgomery to supply the building boom in Alabama's new capital.
The Civil War and floods
Though its civic pride was wounded by losing the capital to Montgomery, the planters and merchants of the region continued to flourish throughout the antebellum period. A plan was promoted to build a lock and dam so that boats would be able to pass over the Fall LineFall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
and travel up the Coosa
Coosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
as far as Rome, Georgia
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
. One famous resident was William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey was a journalist, politician, orator, diplomat and an American leader of the Southern secession movement. A member of the group known as the Fire-Eaters, Yancey was one of the most effective agitators for secession and rhetorical defenders of slavery. An early critic of...
, a firebrand newspaper editor and statesman who was an influential advocate of States' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
and Southern secession
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
. In February 1861, representatives from seven Southern states met in nearby Montgomery to form the Confederate government, inaugurating Jefferson Davis as their president on the steps of the Alabama state capitol. The same year saw the majority of the male population of Wetumpka going off to war. Wetumpka was never harmed by Federal troops, who did not arrive in the area until early 1865 and were determined to push quickly on to Montgomery to punish the former Confederate capital before the war ended. Those men who returned after the war came home to a city and a region whose economy had been completely destroyed. In 1866, a Reconstruction government drew up a new plan of counties for the state, and Elmore County was created out of parts of Coosa, Autauga, and Montgomery counties, with Wetumpka as its county seat (Rockford was chosen as seat of the "new" Coosa County). Despite this, the future of the city seemed grim. Before the war, the population had reached more than 3,000. By 1879, it had declined to a scant 619. In 1886, the worst flood in the history of the city inundated the west bank and most of downtown. The bridge connecting the city's two halves was washed away, and more than a year passed before unfortunate Wetumpka was able to fuse itself back together.
Progress
The first paved road linking Wetumpka with Montgomery was completed in 1924. Montgomery continued to grow during the two World Wars because of military spending and the growth of the state government. By the 1950s, the ubiquity of the automobile allowed Wetumpka's residents to commute daily to Montgomery for work.Geography
Wetumpka is located at 32°32′27"N 86°12′28"W (32.540972, −86.207726), and sits at the junction of the CoosaCoosa River
The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long altogether.The Coosa River is one of Alabama's most developed rivers...
and Tallapoosa River
Tallapoosa River
The Tallapoosa River runs from the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, in the United States, southward and westward into Alabama. It is formed by the confluence of McClendon Creek and Mud Creek in Paulding County, Georgia. Lake Martin at Alexander City, Alabama is a large and...
s, where they merge to become the Alabama River
Alabama River
The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery.The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it unites with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which discharge into...
.
The city is situated astride the Fall Line, where the Appalachian foothills give way to the flat Gulf Coastal plain, a fact responsible for much of its natural beauty.
Downtown Wetumpka covers two city blocks, and is bordered on the northwest by the Coosa River. The Bibb Graves
Bibb Graves
David Bibb Graves was a Democratic politician and the 38th Governor of Alabama 1927-1931 and 1935–1939, the first Alabama governor to serve two four-year terms.-Early life:...
Bridge crosses the river here, and is the city's most recognizable landmark. Directly across the bridge are the city's three antebellum churches, the First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and First Baptist.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 square miles (23.1 km²) of which 8.5 square miles (22 km²) is land and 0.4 square miles (1 km²) (4.49%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,726 people, 1,797 households, and 1,128 families residing in the city. The population density was 672.9 PD/sqmi. There were 2,139 housing units at an average density of 251.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 64.88% WhiteRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 32.83% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.40% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.40% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.07% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.38% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.94% from two or more races. 2.32% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 1,797 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 36.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 62.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 54.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,536, and the median income for a family was $41,500. Males had a median income of $32,403 versus $23,234 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,729. About 7.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
Wetumpka in movies
Three major films have been filmed on location in downtown Wetumpka.- Big FishBig FishBig Fish is a 2003 American fantasy adventure film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Marion Cotillard. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from...
(2003) - The Grass Harp (1995)
- The Rosa Parks StoryThe Rosa Parks StoryThe Rosa Parks Story is a 2002 American television movie written by Paris Qualles and directed by Julie Dash. Angela Basset portrays Rosa Parks. It was broadcast by CBS on February 24, 2002.-Plot:...
(2002)
Wetumpka meteor crater
Wetumpka is the home of "Alabama's greatest natural disaster." A meteoriteMeteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
, estimated to be 1000 feet (304.8 m) wide, hit the area about 80 million years ago. The hills just east of downtown showcase the eroded remains of a 5 miles (8 km) wide impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater
Wetumpka crater
The Wetumpka impact crater is the only confirmed impact crater in Alabama, United States. It is located east of downtown Wetumpka in Elmore County. The crater is 7.6 km in diameter and its age is estimated to be about 83 million years old based on fossils found in the youngest disturbed deposits,...
or astrobleme ("star-wound") for the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock can be found beneath the surface. In 2002, Auburn University researchers published evidence and established the site as an internationally recognized impact crater.
Jasmine Hill Gardens
This outdoor museum was built in the 1930s on the estate of the Fitzpatrick family, who spent many years in Greece collecting replicas of ancient statuary to adorn their formal gardens at Jasmine Hill. Today the gardens are run as a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting the arts and Greek culture. Frequently the site of local weddings, its attractions include a full-sized replica of the Temple of HeraTemple of Hera (Olympia)
The Temple of Hera is an ancient Doric Greek temple at Olympia, Greece. The Temple of Hera was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century AD, and never rebuilt...
at Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
.
Jasmine Hill Photo Gallery
Outdoor recreation
Wetumpka and the Coosa River annually play host to the Coosa River Challenge. The Coosa River Challenge began in 2003 and regularly draws 150 to 200 participants. The race, a modified triathlonTriathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
, starts at the Swayback Bridge Trail with a cross country run
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, a mountain bike
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
leg, and paddling
Watercraft paddling
Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling or navigating a small boat using a blade that is joined to a shaft, known as paddle, in the water. The paddle is also used to steer the vessel and may either be a single bladed or double bladed...
on the Coosa River to finish at Goldstar park in downtown Wetumpka.
The Swayback Bridge Trail is home to the annual mountain bike race "Attack on Swayback".
Wetumpka is popular with white water sports
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
enthusiasts, attracting paddlers from all over the country. The city hosts the annual Coosa River Whitewater Festival, and was the site of the 2005 U.S. Freestyle Kayaking Nationals. Recently, the Coosa River Paddling Club has constructed Corn Creek Park, which offers public access to the river, along with nature and walking trails.
In May, Wetumpka hosts its annual Confederate History and Heritage Day, when the citizens fly the Stars and Bars
Stars and bars
Stars and bars may refer to* The first official flag of the Confederate States of America* A graphical method used to derive the formula for multiset coefficients and other combinatorial theorems* A 1988 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis...
and march through the streets in period customes commemorating the antebellum
History of the United States (1789–1849)
With the election of George Washington as the first president in 1789, the new government acted quickly to rebuild the nation's financial structure. Enacting the program of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, the government assumed the Revolutionary war debts of the state and the national...
period.
Poarch Creek casino
The Poarch Creek Indians have built a casinoCasino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
on land abutting the city.
Government and infrastructure
The Julia Tutwiler Prison for WomenJulia Tutwiler Prison for Women
The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women is a prison for women of the Alabama Department of Corrections, located in Wetumpka, Alabama. All female inmates entering ADOC are sent to the receiving unit in Tutwiler. Tutwiler houses the state's female death row...
of the Alabama Department of Corrections
Alabama Department of Corrections
The Alabama Department of Corrections, commonly referred to as , is the agency responsible for incarceration of convicted felons in the state of Alabama in the United States. It is headquartered in the Alabama Criminal Justice Center in Montgomery....
is in Wetumpka. The prison houses Alabama's female death row. Wetumpka was previously the site of the Wetumpka State Penitentiary
Wetumpka State Penitentiary
The Wetumpka State Penitentiary , originally known as the Alabama State Penitentiary, was the first state prison established in Alabama. Built on the east bank of the Coosa River in Wetumpka, Alabama, it was nicknamed the "Walls of Alabama" or "Walls." For much of its existence the prison housed...
.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the Wetumpka Post Office.
Notable natives
- James AndersonJames K AndersonJames Anderson , sometimes billed as Kyle James, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird .He made over 120 appearances mostly in TV and several films between 1941 and 1970...
(1921–1969), actor (Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell in To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature... - Ronnie Lovejoy, BluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
Singer - Jim RogersJim RogersJames Beeland Rogers, Jr. is an American investor, author, and occasional financial commentator. He is currently based in Singapore. Rogers is the Chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc...
, author - Jason SanfordJason SanfordJason Sanford is an American science fiction author best known for his short story writing. His fiction has been published in Interzone, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Year's Best SF 14, and other magazines and anthologies...
, science fiction author. - Channing TatumChanning TatumChanning Matthew Tatum is an American actor and film producer. He began his career as a fashion model and appearing in television commercials for Pepsi and Mountain Dew before turning to film roles...
, actor - Jamie WinbornJamie WinbornJamie Winborn is an American football linebacker, currently a free agent and most recently for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
, Pro Football Player