Уэтампка, Алабама қаласының тарихы мен сипаттамасы

City in Alabama, United States

Wetumpka (/US//w//ɪ/'/t//ʌ//m//k//ə/) is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the fastest growing counties in the state. The city is considered part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Area. Wetumpka identifies as "The City of Natural Beauty". Among the notable landmarks are the Wetumpka crater and the Jasmine Hill Gardens, with a full sized replica of the Temple of Hera of Olympia, Greece. Historic downtown Wetumpka developed on both sides of the Coosa River. It was near Fort Toulouse, built by French colonists in 1717, when they had claimed this territory for the king. In 2022, the city of Wetumpka jailed two elderly women attempting to feed and neuter stray cats.

The placename Wetumpka is derived from the Muscogee Creek Native American language phrase we wau tum cau meaning "rumbling waters", believed to be a description of the sound of the nearby Coosa River at the rapids of the Devil's Staircase. The roar of the rapids reportedly could be heard for miles before the construction in the 20th century of Walter Bouldin Dam and Jordan Dam, when the river was captured as a reservoir behind the dam. After being forced west to Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma), by United States soldiers under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Muscogee named their major settlement there Wetumka, after their historic village. The city commissioned a steamboat, The Coosa Belle, to ferry passengers and cotton between Wetumpka and Mobile. The same forces contributing to Wetumpka's growth were shifting the balance of power within Alabama. A standoff between the farmers of the Tennessee Valley, centered in the former capital of Huntsville, and the old mercantile wealth of Mobile, had resulted in the capital being located for many years at Tuscaloosa. By 1845, the cotton planters in the interior Black Belt had become some of the wealthiest in the country, and power was shifting toward the southern and central part of the state. Both the Black Belt cotton barons and the Mobilians wanted the capital moved. Compromise indicated a new, centrally located capital, accessible by river and by steamboat. The lead contenders were Wetumpka (then straddling old Autauga and Coosa Counties) and the newer city of Montgomery (in Montgomery County), a few miles south. Neither city had a majority of support; representatives from north Alabama, enraged that the capital was being moved from Tuscaloosa, were indifferent to either site. Just before the vote, Montgomery lured an expensive French chef to the new hotel that had been built to house the state's representatives if Montgomery were selected. The city distributed elegant menus to the statesmen. The promise of luxury swayed the vote, and Montgomery won. That same year, a fire broke out in Wetumpka, burning warehouses and many commercial buildings. The charred bricks were carried downriver to Montgomery to supply the building boom in Alabama's new capital.

Though their civic pride was wounded by losing the capital to Montgomery, Wetumpka's planters and merchants continued to flourish throughout the antebellum period. They promoted a plan to build a lock and dam so that boats would be able to pass above the Fall Line and travel up the Coosa as far as Rome, Georgia. One famous resident was William Lowndes Yancey, a firebrand newspaper editor and statesman who was an influential advocate of states' rights, slavery, and Southern secession. In February 1861, representatives from seven Southern states met in Montgomery to form the Confederate government, inaugurating Jefferson Davis as their president on the steps of the Alabama state capitol. The first six states to secede were those whose residents owned the most slaves in the South. The same year saw the majority of Wetumpka's male population going off to war. Wetumpka was never harmed by Federal troops. No Union troops entered the area until early 1865, and they were driven to reach Montgomery to punish the former Confederate capital before the war ended. Veterans of the war returned to a city and a region whose economy had been completely destroyed. In 1866, a Reconstruction government drew up a new plan of counties for the state, and Elmore County was created out of parts of Coosa, Autauga, and Montgomery counties, with Wetumpka as its county seat. (Rockford was chosen as seat of the "new" Coosa County.) Despite this, the city's future seemed grim. Before the war (in 1850), the population had reached 3,824 to become the 3rd largest city in the state (behind Mobile and Montgomery). By 1870 it had 1,137 residents (with Black residents outnumbering Whites by a margin of 594 to 543); in 1880, 816 residents; by 1890, it had declined to 619, and would bottom out at 562 in 1900. Not until 1950 would it return to the population it had a century earlier (with 3,813 residents). In 1886, the worst flood in city history inundated the west bank and most of downtown. The bridge connecting the city's two halves was washed away, and more than a year passed before it was replaced.

A number of lynchings took place in and around Wetumpka during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The largest lynching took place on June 17, 1898, when a mob of 500 described as "some of the best and most prominent citizens of Elmore and Coosa counties" stormed the county jail where Solomon Jackson, Camp Reese, Louis Spier and Jesse Thompson were being held. A few prominent citizens and a Methodist minister tried talking the mob away from violence but they were unsuccessful. The sheriff had hidden the jail keys so that the mob couldn't get into the cells but they took a crowbar and took the cell doors off of their hinges and kidnapped the four men. The mob originally planned to burn them alive but thought that troops would intervene, so instead the men were hanged.

The first paved road linking Wetumpka with Montgomery was completed in 1924. Montgomery continued to grow during the two World Wars because of military spending in the region and the growth of the state government. By the 1950s, the ubiquity of the automobile allowed Wetumpka's residents to commute daily to Montgomery for work.

In 2022, two women were arrested and charged for feeding feral cats, which is not a crime in Wetumpka. City Judge Jeff Courtney sentenced Beverly Roberts, 85, and Mary Alston, 61, each to two years of unsupervised probation and 10 days in jail. The jail sentence was suspended. They were also ordered to each pay $100 in fines, plus court costs. After sentencing the women appealed to the Elmore County Circuit Court, at which point the city decided to no longer pursuing criminal charges. The arrests generated worldwide media coverage and opposition Roberts and Alston were later named "community heroes" by The Montgomery Advertiser for helping feral cats in Wetumpka. They were also featured on an episode of A&E Networks' show "My Strange Arrest". Roberts and Alston alleged that "small town politics" were behind what happened, saying that Wetumpka Mayor Jerry Willis "ordered Roberts' arrest because she had a history of making complaints about animal welfare matters in the city."

Wetumpka is located southwest of the center of Elmore County at (32.540972, −86.207726), and sits on both sides of the Coosa River 5 mile (8 km) northeast of its confluence with the Tallapoosa River, where they merge to become the Alabama River. The city is situated astride the Fall Line, where the Appalachian foothills give way to the flat Gulf Coastal Plain. The city is located along many major US and state routes, notably U. S. Route 231, which runs east of downtown, leading north 28 mile (45 km) to Rockford and south 18 mile (29 km) to downtown Montgomery. Alabama State Route 14 runs west to east through the downtown area, leading east 22 mile (35 km) to Tallassee and southwest 17 mile (27 km) to Prattville. Other state highways that run through the city include Alabama State Route 9 and Alabama State Route 170. Downtown Wetumpka covers two city blocks, and is bordered on the northwest by the Coosa River. The Bibb Graves Bridge crosses the river here, and is the city's most recognizable landmark. Directly across the bridge are the city's three antebellum churches, the First Methodist, First Presbyterian, and First Baptist. On January 19, 2019, a tornado destroyed the First Presbyterian church and badly damaged the first Baptist church. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.66%, is water.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wetumpka has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

+Wetumpka racial compositionRaceNum. Perc. White (non Hispanic)4,62464.04%Black or African American (non Hispanic)1,89826.29%Native American440.61%Asian901.25%Pacific Islander90.12%Other/Mixed2613.61%Hispanic or Latino2944.07%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,220 people, 2,917 households, and 2,008 families residing in the city.

Wetumpka is the home of "Alabama's greatest natural disaster". A meteorite, estimated to be 1000 feet (305 m) wide, hit the area about 80 million years ago. The hills just east of downtown showcase the eroded remains of a 5 mile (8 km) impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock, with the area labeled the Wetumpka crater or astrobleme ("star wound") for the concentric rings of fractures and zones of shattered rock that can be found beneath the surface. In 2002, Auburn University researchers published evidence and established the site as an internationally recognized impact crater.

This outdoor museum was built in the 1930s on the estate of the Fitzpatrick family, who spent many years in Greece collecting replicas of ancient statuary to adorn their formal gardens at Jasmine Hill. The gardens are closed and will not re open; they had several attractions including a full sized replica of the Temple of Hera at Olympia.

Wetumpka and the Coosa River annually play host to the Coosa River Challenge, which began in 2003 and regularly draws 150 to 200 participants. The race, a modified triathlon, starts at the Swayback Bridge Trail with a cross country run, a mountain bike leg, and paddling on the Coosa River to finish at Goldstar Park in downtown Wetumpka. The Swayback Bridge Trail is home to the annual mountain bike race, "Attack on Swayback". Wetumpka is popular with white water sports enthusiasts, attracting paddlers from all over the country. The city hosts the annual Coosa River Whitewater Festival, and was the site of the 2005 U. S. Freestyle Kayaking Nationals. The Coosa River Paddling Club has constructed Corn Creek Park, which offers public access to the river, along with nature and walking trails.

Christmas on the Coosa is an annual series of events held in during the month of December. The event location is the Bibb Graves Memorial Bridge. The main event is the fireworks display and boat show held on the Coosa River. Observers watch from the Bibb Graves Memorial Bridge as a parade of boats decorated with Christmas lights float down the river under the bridge as fireworks go off. This is a unique experience due to the glow of fireworks illuminating the night sky as well as the placid river surface. A host of events proceeds the river show such as Miss Christmas on the Coosa Pageant, Pictures with Santa, tree lighting, and other events centralized around the city's Gold State Park.

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama, have built a casino on land abutting the city. The tribe have announced plans for a major expansion of the casino to include a $246 million hotel, a second casino, and many other attractions in the complex as well. The new casino complex will employ over 1,000 people and have a 20 story, 285 room hotel named Wind Creek Wetumpka.

The United States Postal Service operates the Wetumpka Post Office. The Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women of the Alabama Department of Corrections is in Wetumpka. The prison houses Alabama's female death row. Wetumpka was previously the site of the Wetumpka State Penitentiary. In 2022, the Wetumpka Police Department handcuffed and arrested a group of elderly ladies for feeding stray cats in a city park. They were convicted and sentenced by local judge Jeff Courtney. The case is now under appeal.

The city is within the Elmore County Public School System. Public schools include Wetumpka Elementary School, Wetumpka Middle School, Wetumpka High School, and Redland Elementary School. Wetumpka Middle School was formed by a merger of Wetumpka Intermediate School and Wetumpka Junior High School.