Crocheron Columns

The Crocheron Columns point back to the short life of Anna Maria Geib Crocheron, a young woman whose story lives on through the historic remnants of Old Cahawba.

Maria married Richard C. Crocheron in 1843 and left Philadelphia to begin a new life in Cahawba. Richard built a home especially for her, hoping to persuade her to move to the “wilds of Alabama.” Although the house burned in the 1920s, its porch columns, known as the Crocheron Columns, still stand today.

Maria’s family connections also survive through The Cahaba Polka, a piece of sheet music composed by her father, William Geib, and dedicated to her husband.

Tragically, Maria died of tuberculosis in 1850 at just 28 years old. Her young son, William, died the following year at only four years old, and was buried beside her in Cahawba’s New Cemetery. Richard eventually returned to New York with his surviving children.

Today, a tombstone, a piece of music, and a few weathered columns help us remember Maria’s life and the family she left behind.