Tour will tell story of Cahawba residents

Published 11:14 pm Thursday, June 2, 2016

By Samantha Bolden | The Selma Times-Journal

A tour this Saturday at Old Cahawba Archaeological Park will be a haunting good time.

The park is sponsoring a one-hour cemetery walking tour beginning at 10 a.m. for an $8 admission.

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The tour is one of several the park has offered on the first Saturday of the month over the past three years.

Those who come out are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes.

Assistant site director Jonathan Matthews said visitors will learn much about the town’s history and the people who called Cahawba home.

“I’m most excited to introduce another side of Cahawba to our visitors,” Matthews said. “This was a home of 3,000 people who lived, loved, and died here, and we’re going to learn more about their stories.”

Old Cahawba lies at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers. From 1819 to 1826, the community served as Alabama’s first state capital.

Cahawba became a ghost town shortly after the Civil War.

In 1865, the town suffered a massive flood and the county seat moved to Selma a year later.

After the cemetery tour, visitors are encouraged to explore the other areas of the park.

The park will allow guests to borrow their bicycles to enjoy the scenery.

For more information, contact Matthews at (334) 872-8058.