Cahaba in Dallas County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Who Lived Here?
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 6, 2018
1. Who Lived Here? Marker
The Fambro Family
A. Judge W. W. Fambro built this house in the early 1840s. He may have created his home by moving two older structures onto this lot where he merged them into one larger home.
B. Elizabeth Jacob was 28 when she married the 45 year old Fambro in 1850. They were childless, but their house did not remain empty. The couple provided room and board for students and teachers from the nearby academy.
C. Mary Snyder Johnson lost her birth parents in a steamboat accident. Frank Johnson, the captain of that boat, saved baby Mary and adopted her, but the Fambros raised Mary in this house. Ironically, another boating accident claimed Mary's husband and son in 1881.
The Arthur Family
D. Ezekiel Arthur was born into slavery. After Emancipation, he traveled to several different states to find his mother and sisters who had been "sold away." They returned to Cahawba, and he purchased this house in 1894. The Arthur family lived in this home for 100 years.
E. Mattie Arthur was the daughter-in-law of Ezekiel. She lived in this house until her death in 1995. The copper bucket is a family
this page online
Erected 2015 by the Alabama Historical Commission.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Notable Buildings • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Alabama Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.
Location. 32° 19.148′ N, 87° 5.984′ W. Marker is in Cahaba, Alabama, in Dallas County. It can be reached from Oak Street south of 1st Street North. Located within the Cahawba Archaeological Park (nominal fee required). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Oak Street, Orrville AL 36767, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and in the Black Belt. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: "Hell in Harness" (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); C.C. Pegues & His Most Unusual Home (about 800 feet away); Working on Walnut Street (approx. 0.2 miles away); Anna Gayle Fry House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Double Duty: Burial Society & School (approx. 0.2 miles away); Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Alabama's First Statehouse (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cahaba.
Other markers no longer nearby. Site of Alabama's Statehouse
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 6, 2018
2. The Fambro house.
Also see . . . Fambro-Arthur House at Old Cahawba Park in Dallas County, AL (built ca. 1841). (Submitted on January 9, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed by Mark Hilton, January 6, 2018
3. Older marker, barely readable, nearby.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 11, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 9, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,083 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 9, 2018, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
