ALABAMA. 



317 



POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Divisions. This State is divided into 49 counties.* 



Population at different Periods. 

 1820, Total, 144,317 Slaves, 47,439 



1830, " 309,527 " 117,549 



1838, " 508,044 " 223,807 



Whites, 



190,406 

 282,338 



2. Towns. The only town of consequence is Jkro6iZe. It stands on the west side of the baj 

 of that name, in a somewhat elevated position, above the overflow of the river. It was fo'inded 

 by the Spaniards about the year 1700, yet it was an inconsiderable place when it came into the 

 possession of the Americans, in 1813. Since the country has been in our possession, it has 

 flourished, although the yellow fever was at first a powerful obstacle to its rapid growth ; the 

 health of the city has of late been much improved by drainage, and by paving the streets, which 

 are spacious and often lined with the pride of China. Mobile is now the commercial depot of 

 the whole State, and, next to New Orleans and Charleston, is the greatest market for cotton in 

 the country, about 250,000 bales being annually shipped from its wharves. Many steamboats 

 ply upon the bay and the river above, and there is an extensive foreign and coasting trade be- 

 tween Mobile, New Orleans, the North, and Europe. The Spanish part of the town consists 

 mostly of ancient and decayed buildings ; but the modern part is handsomely built of brick 

 The public buildings, however, are few. Population, 10,000. Blakely, on the opposite 

 side of Mobile Bay, stands on the Tensas, a branch of Mobile River, and was intended as a 

 rival of Mobile. Its situation is more salubrious than that tov/n, being open and dry, with 

 several streams of pure water, and the harbor is deeper and more easy of access ; but the town 

 is an inconsiderable village. 



St. Stephens, on the Tombeckbee, stands at the head of schooner navigation, about 120 

 miles above Mobile. It is situated in a fertile region, but is now almost deserted. Cahaioba, 

 at the confluence of the Cahawba and Alabama rivers, near the centre of the State, was for- 

 merly the seat of government. 



Tuscaloosa, a little northwest of the centre of the State, on the Black Warrior River, is the 

 capital. It was founded but a few years since, and contains the capitol, and the university of 

 the State. It stands in a rich district, in a commanding and agreeable situation, and is acces- 

 sible to steamboats. Population, 2,000. Sehna is a thriving village above Cahawba, which 

 derives importance from the railroad hence to the Tennessee. JWontgomery, near the head of 

 the Alabama, is a thriving town with a good deal of trade, and 2,500 inhabitants. Wetumpka, 

 on the Coosa, was cut out of the forest in 1832, and now contains 3,000 inhabitants. The 

 principal towns of North Alabama, or the Tennessee Valley, are Florence, below Muscle Shoals, 

 and at the head of steam navigation, with 2,000 inhabitants, and Huntsville, above the shoals, 

 with 2,500, both flourishing and busy towns. 



3. Railroads and Canals. The Tennessee or Muscle Shoals Canal, extends along the right 

 bank of the Tennessee, above Florence ; the least depth is 6 feet, and the least width at the 

 surface, 60 feet ; these dimensions being adapted to admit the passage of steamboats, which can 

 then go up to the Suck, near Rossville ; another section of this work, between Florence and 

 Waterloo surmounts the only slioals below the former. The Huntsville Canal is a short work, 

 extending from Huntsville, down the Indian Creek, to Triana, 16 miles. The Tuscumbia and 

 Decatur Railroad extends from Decatur, on the Tennessee, through Courtland and Tuscum- 

 bia, to a point on the river a few miles from the latter village ; length, 48 miles. The Mont- 

 gomery and Chattahoochee Railroad extends from Montgomery, on the former, to West Point, 



* Autauga 

 Baldwin 

 Barbour 

 Benton 

 Bibb 

 Blount 

 Butler 

 Chambers 

 Cherokee 

 Clarke 

 Conecuh 

 Coosa 



Dale 



Dallas 



Dekalb 



Fayette 



Franklin 



Greene 



Henry 



Jackson 



Jefferson 



Lauderdale 



Lawrence 



Limestone 



Lowndes 



Macon 



Madison 



Marengo 



Marion 



Marshall 



Mobile 



Montgomery 



Monroe 



Morgan 



Perry 



Pickens 



Pike 



Randolph 



Russell 



St. Clair 



Shelby 



Surnter 



Talladega 



Tallapoosa 



Tuscaloosa 



Walker 



Washington 



Wilcnr 



