F 3 34 DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA. A PAMPHLET DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS LOCATION, TOGETHER WITH AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF ITS SURROUNDINGS. Its Social, Commercial, Educational and Agricultural Advantages. ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICIES OF THE CITY COUNCIL. SELMA, A LA.: FROM THE PRESSES OF THE SELMA PRINTING CO. 1887. ^ Class V ^ 1_ Book ...TIhT) -^ DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA. A PAIMPHLET DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS LOCATION, TOGETHER WITH AN ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF ITS SURROUNDINOS. Its Social, Commercial, Educational and Agricultural Advantages. ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICIES OF THE CITY COUNCIL. FROM THE PRESSES OF THE SELMA PRINTING CO. 1887. NOTE rjlHIS little pJiamphlet is issued tineier the auspices of the City Council of D em op o lis. It has been sug- gested by the numerous inquiries which have been made concerning the resources of Alabama. Demopolis is a typical town of the famous ''Black Belt" of Alabama, and its inhabitants are prepared to make suggestions concerning the wonderful capabilities of the soils of this noted section. Care has been taken not to overdrazv the picture of the situation. We desire that when , visitors come, in response to the inducements prescJtted by this pamphlet, they may find things precisely as are Jierein stated. Believing that this has been done after a critical examination of the facts recorded, '^ We are, very respectfully, GEO. W. TAYLOR, M. MA YER, W. H. WELCH, Committee. DEMOPOLIS. ^\EMOPOLIS IS located upon lofty bluffs which overlook the Tombigbee river vind the county of Sumter lying be- yond. It is situated at the junction of the Warrior with the Tombigbee and just above the great bridge of the E. T., V. & G. R. R. which spans the latter riven For more than a half century, it has been the commercial centre of as magnificent agricultural region as can be found in the South. It is situated at a point to command the trade from the fertile sections of the counties of Marengo, Hale, Greene and Sumter, and for many years has been the trading centre of the planters of that vast prairie region, known as the Canebrake country — the garden spot of the South. POPULATION. HE TOWN has a population of about two thousand. Ac- cessions have been repeated and valuable of late years, especially since the establishment of manufactories. Its commercial advantages are winning the attention of business men, and its numerous other advantages will attract many others still. The character of the residents is- largely cosmopolitan, and one. finds here, small as the population is, representatives of all nations. The foreign element is especially thrifty, the major portion having spent a quarter of a century or more in this, "The People's City," and won the friendship and esteem of their native fellow-citizens. DEMOFOLIS, ALA. 5 CLIMATE. fHE CLIMATE is mild at all seasons. The atmosphere never reaches an extreme cold and but rarely attains to excessive heat. The morninjjjs and evenings, even in midsum- mer, are usually cool and breezy, and tlie nights refreshingly pleasant. Only the thinnest ice forms during winter, and one witnesses usually one light fall of snow during the entire cold season. Vernal heat is oftentimes felt as early as March, and the growing season prevails from- that time until November. The conditions are such as to favor a rotation of several crops m fields or gardens alike during the warm season. Flowers bloom, and fruits and vegetables ripen almost throughout the year. HEALTH. jaCS^^ITHOUT health there is no happiness. A location ^^ may be otherwise never so inviting, and yet if devoid of healthfulness, its capacity to beget happiness is taken away. Demopolis reposes upon a high oluff of the Tombigbee, which sweeps past with a current so rapid as to forbid the accumulation of malarial elements. No stagnant lakes nor swampy lagoons prevail in any section adjacent to the town. The undulation of the surface favors the rapid conveyance of all waters into the river. This taken in connection witjj the sanitary reports of the town, demonstrates its healthfulness, the mortality for the past five years being so very slight as to make an actual statement almost incredible. During this period, there have been perhaps ten deaths of white adults due to local causes. Im- migrants from Europe and the North are especially delighted \vith this prominent feature of our town, and after many years residence continued invariably through all seasons, summer and winter, they are very pictures of health. DEMOPOLIS, ALA, EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. XEVATED SOCIETY finds its noblest exponent in its schools and churches. Of the former, Demopolis has two — male and female. A good male school has all along been sustained in the town, in which boys and young men are fitted for the higher collegiate classes. But the pride of the town is its splendid institution for the education of girls and young ladies — The Marengo Female Institute. During the past year the college was revived under Prof. Legare, of South Carolina, but has, of late, received a new impulse by the election of Prof. G. F. Mellen as its president. No town of the same size can offer superior educational advantages. CHURCHES. SPHERE are five churches, representing the Methodist, Bap- tist, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Roman Catholic denom- nations. ARTESIAN WATER. ©UPERIOR artesian wells to those of Demopolis cannot be found. Abounding in minerals and gushing forth in such immense volumes, these wells are capable of supplying every demand for water in the town. The artesian well in the Public Square is a place of freq,uent and easy resort, and adjacent to the tasteful pavilion which encloses the well, is a shady park penetrated by paths and overspread with a carpet of beautiful green grass. STREETS AND RESIDENCES. S^HE STREETS are broad and well graded and are bordered by shade trees that are rot only objects of attraction, but of great comfort. BEMOFOLIS, ALA. 7 The residences are neat and cozy, and are usually embow- ered in groves of perpetual green, while the yards and grounds are carpeted with swards of grass. In the business portion of the town, the streets are lined with handsome and commodious houses of business of modern style of architecture. BANK. STHERE is in the town a safe and well established bank of twenty years' standing. It furnishes exchange, discount and deposit facilities for the town and surrounding country, readily handling the produce and large crops of cotton mark- eted here. INDUSTRIES. r'HERE are in the town a large cotton seed oil mill, a cotton compress, a wagon and buggy factory, two cotton ware- houses, two large livery acd sale stables and a brick manufactory, besides other local industries. STOCK RAISING. 'HERE are several large stock farms in immediate proximity to the town, where the finer grades of cattle, such as the Jersey and Holstein breeds, are raised with profit. Mule raising also has, of late, been considerably entered into, and we have ab-eady many planters who raise mules to till their lands, and their number is constantly increasing. COTTON RECEIPTS. JjP^OCATED, as already mentioned, in the midst of a region ^^^ of country unsurpassed in its fertility, and enjoying ad- vantages of transportation in all directions by means of the E. T., V & G. R. R. system and the Tombigbee and Warrior rivers, Demopolis is the focal point of market for a large area of territory. 8 DEMOPOLIS, ALA. Its cotton receipts extend from 15,000 to 20,000 bales annually, and are steadily increasing. The bulk of this cotton is bought and shipped direct from this point to eastern spinners and for foreign export. LINES OF TRANSPORTATION. SpHE SEVERAL lines of transportation which converge at Demopolis deserve special emphasis. The Tombigbee river, which washes the base of its lofty bluffs, extends from eastern Mississippi, on the north, to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the great rivers of the South and drains one of the most splendid agricultural regions of the conti- nent. It was one of the earliest rivers plied by steam navigation, and for full halt a century has been an important highway of commerce. It furnishes deep water transportation to the gates of the Mexican Gulf. Winding its way through magnificent domains of agricultural land and superb forests of timber, it is destined to play a conspicuous part in the development of the resources of our favored Commonwealth. Inspired by a spirit of commendable enterprise, the business men of Demopolis have in contemplation a line of steamers to Mobile to be con- ducted in their own interest. The Warrior which empties into the Tombigbee just at the city of Demopolis, is navigable to Tuskaloosa in which county are found the thickest seams of coal yet discovered on the globe. Thus by means of this river, easy and cheap communication is furnished direct to the mineral districts of Alabama. The Warrior is destined in the future to be thronged wnth tugs and barges, laden with coal and iron, seeking their way to the seas of the South and thence to the world beyond. The E. T., Va. & G. R. R. system gives Demopolis rail communication with the large cities of the country in all direc- DEMOPOLIS, ALA. tions. Being situated on two navigable streams, running at right angles with the railroad, she has advantange over any other interior town in the State. There are, also, in operation telephone lines connecting this point with places in the interior tributary to the town. Thus will readily be seen the advantages Deraopolis offers as a man- ufacturing site, especially for cotton. SURROUNDING ADVANTAGES. ,!WHE abundant advantages enjoyed by Demopolis as a com- mercial centre have already been touched upon. They are simply immense, by reason of its favorable location as a centre of commerce, and by reason of its cheap water transportation, enabling its merchants to pay the highest market price for cotton and all other produce. Extending in all directions from Demopolis, as a common centre and into the counties of Marengo, Sumter, Hale and Greene, are vast regions of canebrake lands on which cotton, corn, oats, barley and rice grow to perfection. Prior to the war, these lands commanded prices ranging from ^50.00 to $75.00 per acre. To-day, they can be purchased for from $10.00 to ^25.00 per acre. In addition there are othcj- bodies of land — not classed with the canebrake — susceptible of high cultivation, ranging in price from $3.00 to ^10.00; timbered lands can be bought at from $2.00 to $5.00 per acre. Besides the cultivated districts of tillable lands, there are vast sections overspread with superior grass, such as Johnson and Bermuda grass. Lespideza or Japan clover grows luxuriantly from the opening of April until the frosts of November. The Mellilotus Alba, an exceedingly prolific and nutritious clover, attains to rank luxuriance upon the lime lands adjacent to Demopolis. This Mellilotus delights in overspreading the barest lime rocks with a vigorous growth and upon these rocks some 10 DEMOFOLIS, ALA, times attains to the height of six feet. These various and abun- dant grasses suggest the ease with which stock raising may be pursued. Timbers embracing the different varieties of oak, hickory, black and sweet gum, hackberry, cedar, elm, walnut, pine, willow, poplar, beech and magnolia stock the forests, which are in close proximity to Demopolis. Thus the artisan, the grazier, the planter, the merchant, the manufacturer and the cabinet maker would find, as many have found, the conditions favorable to their respective vocations. PROJECTED RAILROADS. 'N addition to the transportation facilities mentioned, there are now projected, the Chicago Air Line to the Gulf, and the Memphis & Pensacola railroads, both of which are said to be certain to pass near Demopolis. Persons desiring locations will do well to inspect the abundant advantages afforded by this particular section. Communications to the Mayor of the city, or to any member of the Council, asking for information, will be cheer- fully, and in their order, promptly replied to. T. G. CORNISH, Mayor. D. F. PROUT, G. G. LYON, JNO. PARR, M. ELY, J. F. GRIFFIN, M. MAYER, Councilmen City of Demopolis. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS f^ ^^-K: %^" F