1822 - Crocheron's Row
Cahawba's First Shopping Center
This large hole was dug in 1822 to be the
basement beneath Cahawba's first brick
store.
In the 19th century the word "row"
described a building that consisted of
several similar storefronts, all arranged
in a straight line or row. This building
built by brothers David and Nicholas
Crocheron contained eight different
stores or offices. It measured 80 feet
by 42 feet and had two floors above the
basement.
The Crocherons were merchants from
Staten Island, New York. They were very
familiar with commercial rows in New
York City. Before starting their own
brick "row," they completed another brick
building in Cahawba, Alabama's first
statehouse!
1854 -The "Old Brick Store"
Cahawba's First Superstore
The capital was removed in 1825, but
Cahawba survived and prospered.
Eventually, many brick stores were built in
Cahawba, so by the late 1850s, townspeople
were calling this building the "Old Brick
Store."
Col. Sam M. Hill purchased the Old Brick
Store, and turned the once subdivided row
into a single huge dry goods store where
shoppers could buy just about anything
like a modern Walmart.
Most of the merchants in Cahawba traveled
to New
York each season to replenish their
stock. They would travel by steamboat
down the Alabama River, then by steamship
from Mobile to New York City via Cuba
In 1859, Col. Hill was able to make the
return trip from New York in less than four
days!
The Crocherons, the New York family that
originally built the Old Brick Store, had a
cousin named Edward M. Perine. Perine
was probably Hill's biggest competitor. His
store was called the "New Brick Store." It
was located nearby on the southwest corner
of Vine and Second North Streets.
Frontier Conditions
When Cahawba was chosen to be Alabama's first capital, it was uninhabited. A town had to be carved out of the wilderness.
In time Cahawba grew into one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. During the capital era (1819 - 1825) however, conditions were very primitive. Before the Crocheron's built their brick store, Cahawba's merchants lived and worked in small log cabins.
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