The City of Eufaula

The City of Eufaula. . The Second Creek war resulted in the final expulsion of the Creeks from eastern Alabama and paved the way for large-scale American settlement. The town of Irwinton gradually expanded westward from the bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee in the years after the war and by the 1840s was a thriving and rapidly-growing community. The young city soon featured a number of fine homes, several churches, schools, a variety of businesses, and a newspaper office. Prominent local architect George W. Whipple built many of these structures., Most of the area of modern downtown Eufaula was developed by the 1840s. As Broad Street became the primary thoroughfare for the city, older wooden buildings closer to the river were gradually replaced with more substantial brick structures nearer the intersection with Eufaula Avenue (Highway 431). These sections of town became known locally as "Rotten Row" and "Brick Row" respectively. Within the decade Eufaula would complete its transition from a frontier community to one of Alabama's primary trading centers., Steamboats landed at Eufaula as early as 1828, and by the 1840s the city had become a leading regional river transportation center. Wagons brought cotton from area plantations and farms over fifty miles away to Eufaula for shipment during the era. Thousands of bales were sent via steamboat to Apalachicola on the Gulf of Mexico and on to ports such as New York and Liverpool. Steamers heading upriver from the Gulf carried a wide array of goods for the growing markets in the Eufaula area., City Name Change , In 1843 the community of Irwinton reclaimed its original name of Eufaula through an act of the Alabama legislature. Officially, this was because of popular affection for its original name. According to local legend, though, the change came after a prominent resident grew tired of having mail misdirected to the town of Irwinton, Georgia., [Left side photo captions] , Kendall Manor, Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Fendall Hall, Courtesy of Fendall Hall, [Left side newspaper caption] , January 11, 1843 article in the Columbus Enquirer about the changing of the name of the town., [Middle photo] , The W.C. Bradleydocked at Eufaula, ca. 1900 , Courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, [Top right photo] , Early view of Broad Street showing the double row of trees that originally lined it. , Courtesy of Rob Schaffeld, [Bottom right photo] , A vibrant wagon trade supported Eufaula's rise to become a regional cotton trading center. , Courtesy of Rob Schaffeld