An Elmore County Life

In 1839, the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, seemed poised for greatness; at the head of river navigation, it became the center of commerce for much of Alabama and parts of Tennessee and Georgia, and even almost became Alabama's capitol. But the changing times brought decline: Railroads replaced river transportation. Devastating fires in 1844 and 1852 demolished whole blocks of the business section east of the river. Floods in 1833 and 1844 heavily dam­aged both residential and business sections o…