the third governor of Alabama. When the first state assembly adjourned at St. Stephens on February 14, 1818, many Alabama residents thought the capital should be moved to a more central location. Tuscaloosa was under consideration when Governor William Wyatt Bibb made the announcement in 1819 that the capital would be moved to Cahaba. This change threatened the future of St. Stephens. In addition, the development of shallow draft boats permitted travelers to pass over the shoals and venture further upriver past the town. Lastly, yellow fever outbreaks caused high mortality in the town. Railway construction bypassed the town, and a station was established about two miles west of the river. Within two decades, most of the remaining residents had moved around the station to settle New St. Stephens. By 1833 the old town site was reduced in population to a small village; by the time of the American Civil War, it had largely been superseded by the new town. The old site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 29, 1970. The St. Stephens Historical Commission, which oversees the Old St. Stephens Historical Park, was incorporated in 1988, with a mission to promote and sponsor historical research and archaeological studies of Old St. Stephens. In 1999, the Alabama Historical Commission gave it a grant for archaeological studies. The goal was to complete a map of the old town site, denoting the location of streets, building foundations, cellar depressions, and cisterns, and to excavate some of the old building sites. "New" St. Stephens has one building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the St. Stephens Courthouse. Listed on July 3, 1997, it has been restored by the St. Stephens Historical Commission to serve as a visitor center and local history museum near the entrance road to the Old St. Stephens Historical Park. Additionally, the St. Stephens Methodist Church building, completed in 1857, was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on March 25, 1976. See also List of current and former capital cities within U.S. states References External links Saint Stephens, Alabama Saint Stephens, Alabama Census-designated places in Washington County, Alabama Census-designated places in Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Alabama Ghost towns in Alabama