How This Black Town Was Wiped Off The Map

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Kowaliga, Alabama, nestled along the shores of Lake Martin in Tallapoosa County, holds a unique place in the history of Alabama. Kowaliga was founded by a former slave named John Jackson Benson. Benson earned $100 from his work in coal mines. He used the $100 to purchase a portion of the land he was enslaved on. After purchasing the land, he worked the land until it yielded a profit, he then used the profit to buy more of the land. He repeated the process until he owned 3,000 acres of the land.

Benson soon built a farmhouse, sawmill, cotton gin, grist mill, brickyard, and school, helping Kowaliga to grow into a community that housed black and white families. John Benson’s son William E. Benson was the founding president of the Dixie Industrial Company, the first black-owned railroad. The Dixie Industrial Company was able to succeed by exporting lumber to Europe. The company lost financial control due to their exporting ports being closed because of World War II and Benson was replaced as president by the company's largest stockholder. The matter was taken to court but the Dixie Industrial Company was eventually lost.

The area around Lake Martin has been inhabited for centuries, with evidence of Native American settlements dating back thousands of years. The Creek Indians, in particular, were prominent in the region before European colonization. The name "Kowaliga" is believed to have Native American origins, possibly derived from Creek or other indigenous languages.

Kowaliga's modern history began with the construction of Martin Dam on the Tallapoosa River in 1926. The Martin Dam was constructed by the Alabama Power Company to generate hydroelectric power. The dam created Lake Martin, one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States at the time of its completion.

The creation of Lake Martin brought significant changes to the region. One of the biggest changes was the closing of the Kowaliga community. The residents of Kowalioga were displaced by the building of the Martin Dam and the financial troubles that were caused by the exporting ports being closed. Once the Martin Dam was completed the flow of water from the dam flooded the community of Kowaliga leaving another black-owned community underwater. 

Once dominated by a bustling black-owned community, forests, and farmland, the shoreline became dotted with homes, resorts, and communities creating the current Kowaliga community. The gem of the original Kowaliga community was its Kowaliga Academy and Industrial Institute, better known as the Kowaliga Industrial School, founded around 1895. The school became a prominent academic center for Black Americans and Booker T. Washington even served on the board of trustees. Hundreds of black American students were able to be educated until the closing of the school.

John Jackson Benson, his son William E. Benson, and many others helped to establish and grow the Kowaliga community until the residents were forced out and the area flooded to create Lake Martin. 

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