At first glance, the remains of Alabama's fourth state capitol
building look like the ruins of a small gothic cathedral somewhere in
barbarian-ravaged Europe or Britain. The place seems impossibly small
to have housed all the various functions of state government.
Alabama had state capitols in four other places before Montgomery,
namely, St. Stephens, Cahawba, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa. Each was
built and later abandoned due to floods, insects, disease, and/or
political expediency. Every capitol site, including the present, is on or near a major river, as highways and railroads were scarce in the old days.
The facility at Tuscaloosa was quite ornate & elaborate, and
served its purpose well from 1826 to 1845. The building was used as a
girls' school after the capitol moved, and finally burned down some
years later. Eventually all the remaining stone, bricks and marble were
either stolen, moved to other building sites, or shoved into a ravine
adjacent to the capitol grounds.
The "ruins" you see now are actually a clever, artistic, historically
correct reproduction built on-site of salvaged and returned materials
from the original building. Finely-crafted bronze plates on the grounds
show the layout and history of the capitol edifice. Bring your camera,
as these digs seem expressly designed for the artist and photographer.
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