Prairie Bluff, also known as Dale and Daletown, is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

in Wilcox County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

History

Prairie Bluff first appeared on maps in 1819, the same year that Alabama was

admitted to the Union ''Admitted'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language docudrama film directed by Chandigarh-based director Ojaswwee Sharma. The film is about Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender student at Panjab University. The role of Dhananjay Chauhan has been p ...

as a state. It was listed erroneously as Prairie Blue on Fielding Lucas' ''Geographic, Statistical, and Historical Map of Alabama'', printed in Philadelphia in 1822. However, another of Lucas' Alabama maps, also printed in 1822, lists it as Prairie Bluff. It is interchangeably listed as Dale, Daletown, or Prairie Bluff on subsequent maps from the 1830s until the mid-1850s, after which time Prairie Bluff is the only name used. It disappeared from maps altogether around 1900. The historic Greek-Revival style

Dale Masonic Lodge The Dale Masonic Lodge, at the intersection of Broad St. and Clifton St. in Camden, Alabama, was built around 1848. The lodge group was organized in 1827 in Dale Town, which later became Prairie Bluff, Alabama, and the group voted to move to Camde ...

No. 25 in Camden, completed in 1848, was originally established in what was known as Dale during 1827. The members voted to move their lodge during the 1840s to the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

in Camden, incorporated in 1842. The county seat had been a short distance from Prairie Bluff, in the community of Canton Bend, until moved to Barboursville (later renamed Camden) in 1833. The town was located at the midpoint of an early road that connected Cahaba, the first

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

capital, and St. Stephens, the territorial capital. Situated atop a cliff overlooking the Alabama River, the town grew as river trade increased. A large

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

slide, used to move bales of cotton from the top of the cliff to

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

s on the river below, was located at the site. The steamboat ''Pittsburg'' sank near Prairie Bluff in May 1828, followed by the ''Jewess'' on October 28, 1841. The town was at its height in 1861, but declined rapidly in importance with the introduction of new

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s following the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Portions of the site were inundated by the

William "Bill" Dannelly Reservoir The William "Bill" Dannelly Reservoir is a reservoir created by Millers Ferry Lock and Dam on the Alabama River in Dallas County and Wilcox County in Alabama. It covers and has approximately of shoreline. It was named for William "Bill" Danne ...

with the construction of the nearby

Millers Ferry Lock and Dam Millers Ferry Lock and Dam is a lock and hydroelectric dam on the Alabama River, near the community of Millers Ferry, Alabama. It was built by and continues to be operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Construction of the comple ...

in 1963. The only physical feature that remains at the site today is the Prairie Bluff Cemetery, with marked graves dating from the 1830s to the 1860s.

Geography

The site of Prairie Bluff is located at , it has an elevation of . The site is located on an exposed portion of the

Prairie Bluff Chalk Formation The Prairie Bluff Chalk is a geologic formation in Alabama and Mississippi. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period. The chalk was formed by marine sediments deposited along the eastern edge of the Mississippi embayment durin ...

, a geological

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

that was named after the town.

Notable native

* William H. Gaston,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

landowner and co-founder of the first banking house in the city of Dallas * William Q. Atwood,

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

lumber baron was born at Shell Creek plantation near Prairie Bluff. * Mrs. I. Lowenberg, author, clubwoman, reformer, socialite

References

{{Wilcox County, Alabama Ghost towns in Alabama Geography of Wilcox County, Alabama Ghost towns in the United States Towns in Alabama

History

Geography

Notable native

See also

References