SYLACAUGA, Ala. – It was likely a typical Wednesday on Jan. 31, 1838.
At that time. Tuscaloosa was the capital of the state of Alabama. Legislators gathered in chambers on Broad Street and approved an important act, laying the foundation for what would become the “Marble City”..
Today’s maps and records show no evidence of such a “store house”, and the then-town was incredibly small — extending a radius of only 1,320 feet from that location.
Established in 1834, this first incorporation as Syllacauga was followed by another in 1887 as Sylacauga. Over time, there have been many variant spellings including Suillacouga on 1838 maps and Syllacoga.
All spellings actually refer to Chalakagay, meaning “Place of the Chalaka Tribe”, where a group of Shawnee Indians established a village some 90 years earlier, around 1748.
Also in 1838, another small but significant local milestone occurred: establishment of the first post office in Syllacoga, with George Washington Stone appointed as the inaugural postmaster. Stone later rose to prominence as Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.
