We decided to stay an additional day in Demopolis to rest a little bit longer before heading downriver. We thought we would see what there was to see and once again we were captured by Southern charm and hospitality.
Demopolis is located in west central Alabama at the confluence of the Black Warrior River and the Tombigbee River. The very name Demopolis gives insight into this fair community; it means City of the People.
It was settled in 1817 by political exiles from Napoleon's court who had been banished from France by King Louis XVIII. The French exiles assumed that olives and grapes would flourish and brought with them carefully protected shoots and stock of their native olive trees and grape vines. A band of about 150, including women and children, reached the White Bluffs (the present site of Demopolis) on July 14, 1817. However they were uncertain as to where they should settle. After clearing land and building homes in the Demopolis area, it was discovered that a mistake had been made in the land grant as recorded in Washington. Unable to clear their claim, the colonists were forced to move some miles up the Warrior River. Meanwhile, the vine and olive crops were failing and many of the settlers died of fevers and other diseases.
Most of them were aristocratic military families who had become accustomed to the luxury of the courts of Paris. It is said that women went about the frontier chores in their brocaded gowns and satin slippers. The men, dressed in tri-colored cocked hats, crimson capes and insignia of rank, worked with steers and wooden plows. The life was so severe that many of those who could afford the trip returned to France when amnesty was granted by Louis Phillipe. The area retains the French influence in the names of streets such as Desnouettes, Herbert and the County name of Marengo. Marengo County was named to commemorate the battle fought by Napoleon against the Austrians at the village of Marengo on June 14, 1800. To the delight of many, the scattered olive trees in Demopolis still bear fruit each year.
From 1820 to 1870, cotton was coming into its own as the southern money crop, and the Demopolis area prospered. Between 1850 and 1860, plantation society developed to a high degree. The people were related by blood and culture. They entertained often in gracious mansions overlooking the huge plantations.
No battles were fought in Demopolis during the War Between the States, although Federal troops passed through in search of provisions. During the reconstruction era, Federal troops occupied Demopolis, using the City Hall (originally built as the Presbyterian church) as their headquarters.
The people of this area struggled to rebuild their economy. Despite the loss of slave labor, cotton continued to be the principal crop. The Depression of the 1930's and the ravages of the boll weevils brought home the futility of the one-crop farming system. Beef cattle and dairying replaced the dependence on cotton just as industry began to recognize the importance of the two rivers. Several antebellum mansions, the Glover Mausoleum and most of the downtown district are listed on the National Register of Historic Locations.
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