Cahawba - circa 1500

Cahawba - circa 1500 (HM24HJ)

Location: Orrville, AL 36767 Dallas County
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Country: United States of America
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N 32° 19.003', W 87° 5.806'

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Inscription
Two Ghost Towns?

Long before Cahawba was built as
Alabama's first state capital, there was
another village at this location. Just like
Cahawba, it thrived for about 50 years,
then disappeared.

About the year 1500 a group of Native
Americans migrated up the Alabama
River from the coast. When they
reached this place, they stopped and
built a fortified village like the one in the
adjacent illustration. The ditch in front
of you is a remnant of the moat that they
dug around their walled village.

These 16th century residents were
not Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee nor
Chickasaw. They may have been the
ancestors of one or more of these
modern American Indian nations.
Archaeologists call these early Cahawba
residents, Late Mississippians.

Archaeological evidence suggests that
the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto
played a role in their disappearance about
1540.
Details
HM NumberHM24HJ
Tags
,
Year Placed2013
Placed ByThe Alabama Historical Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, January 9th, 2018 at 7:01pm PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)16S E 490891 N 3575546
Decimal Degrees32.31671667, -87.09676667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 32° 19.003', W 87° 5.806'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds32° 19' 0.18000000000001" N, 87° 5' 48.36" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)334
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 141-211 Vine St, Orrville AL 36767, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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