Dallas County Alabama, Selma and Cahaba

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Dallas County was established from territory taken from Montgomery county by an act of the Alabama Territorial Legislature on February 9, 1818. The new county was named in honor of Alexander James Dallas.

In the early days Dallas county included two important communities. Selma was a busy and bawdry commercial and industrial hub while Cahaba was the refined cultural center of the region. Both communities served as collection points where cotton could be loaded on steamboats for shipment down the Alabama River to Mobile and points beyond.

Cahaba (earlier Cahawba) was Alabama's first capitol but floods from the Cahaba and Alabama rivers proved it an unsuitable location for the center of government. It was also the Dallas county seat until 1866 when the county government was moved to Selma. A flood in 1865 sealed Cahaba's destiny to become but a deserted village and finally an historic park.

Selma was an important manufacturing center and supply depot for the south during the American Civil War. Its strategic location and abundant resources made it especially suitable. The Selma arsenal included the Confederate Navel Gun Foundry, ordinance works and shipbuilding facilities.

Selma was again thrown into the annals of history when in 1965 it became the focal point of the Voting Rights Movement.



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