Demopolis Town Square, currently officially known as Confederate Park, is a historic park in the city of

Demopolis Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the time of the 2020 United States census, down from 7,483 at the 2010 census. The city lies at the confluence of the ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is one of the oldest public squares in the state. Demopolis had its beginnings in 1817 with the

Vine and Olive Colony The Vine and Olive Colony was an effort by a group of French Bonapartists who, fearing for their lives after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Bourbon Restoration, attempted to establish an agricultural settlement growing wine grapes and oli ...

, and the park was established in 1819.Marengo County Heritage Book Committee: ''The heritage of Marengo County, Alabama'', page 4. Clanton, Alabama: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000. The park covers one city block, bounded by Main, Capitol, Walnut, and Washington Streets. The park was renamed "Confederate Park" in 1923, at request of

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, ...

. The park contains several historic structures, including a Victorian-era gazebo near the corner of Walnut Avenue and Washington Street, the Demopolis City Hall, built in 1869–70 as a courthouse annex, and the old

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church, built in 1843 and now known as Rooster Hall. The former church served as the Marengo County Courthouse from 1868 until 1871, when the county seat was temporarily moved from Linden. The park's center features a large cast iron fountain that was installed in 1895. The park is often used for the city's festivals, most notably for many of the

Christmas on the River Christmas on the River is a week-long annual Christmas festival held in Demopolis, Alabama. It features a week of events that culminate with a nighttime parade of boats lighted with Christmas-themed decorations on the Tombigbee River at Demopolis. ...

events. The park was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on 29 November 1975.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Marengo County, Alabama Demopolis, Alabama Greek Revival architecture in Alabama Parks in Alabama Protected areas of Marengo County, Alabama Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama United Daughters of the Confederacy monuments and memorials 1819 establishments in Alabama {{Alabama-NRHP-stub