County: Monroe
Zip Code: 36445
Latitude / Longitude: 31°32′25″N 87°30′56″W / 31.54016°N 87.51554°W / 31.54016 -87.51554
Elevation: 180 ft (50 m)
Time Zone: Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established: 1816
Disestablished: 1870s
Comments: Claiborne is a ghost town on a bluff above the Alabama River in Monroe County, Alabama Ghost Townabama. Situated near the Federal Road, Claiborne began during the Mississippi Territory period with a ferry over the river. During the Creek War a large stockade fort, named Fort Claiborne, was established at the site by General Ferdinand Claiborne. He used the fort as a base for the invasion of the Creek nation with the Regular Army of the United States, the Lower Tombigbee Militia, and friendly Choctaw. The community of Claiborne began in 1816, on the former fort site.
Remains: Claiborne remained an important shipping port and trading center throughout the 1840s and 1850s. The coming of the American Civil War saw the construction of batteries along the lower Alabama River and at Claiborne. The town was heavily looted at the end of the war. Following the war, the town quickly lost importance in the new economy. By 1872 the population had dwindled to approximately 350 people. When the new railroad through Monroe County bypassed Claiborne in the early 20th century, the fate of the settlement was sealed. By 2008 the site contained only the James Dellet House and three 19th century cemeteries. Claiborne appeared only once on the U.S. Census, in 1880, as a separately returned community. Its population was 199, which made it the largest in Monroe County.
Current Status: Abandoned
Remarks: One of the largest settlements in early Alabama
