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Mobile Bay Shoreline ~ 1861
Mobile Bay Jubilee
Clubhouse located on Dog River
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Mobile Bay and Its Past (taken from www.simonesez.com)
Founded in 1702, Mobile Bay (or Fort Louis de la Mobile as it was referred to back then) has a long and intriguing history. Beginning as the first capital of French colonial Louisiana — founded some 16 years before the city of New Orleans — it is also known as the city of six flags because during the past 300 years, six flags have officially flown over Mobile: those of France, Britain, Spain, the Republic of Alabama, the Confederacy and the United States.
History shows that Mobile Bay has always prospered because of its strategic location — a deep bay harbor area offering a perfect shipping port and barrier islands that were ideal for military strategists who built strong forts to assure that only welcome guests ventured into the bay. Today, these many historic forts and maritime museums offer visitors a unique glimpse back at the Mobile of yesteryear.
Mobile Bay was first discovered back in 1519 when Alonso Alvarez de Pineda sailed from Jamaica to explore the northern Gulf Coast. In 1558, Guido de las Bazares explored the northern Gulf Coast in advance of the colonial expedition and reports favorably of “Bahia Filipina” which is presumed to be Mobile Bay. The expedition of Tristan de Luna arrives at Bahia Filipina in 1559, but rejects it as an unsuitable base for operations.
From 1701 to 1711, Mobile at 27-Mile Bluff is the capital of French Louisiana and the principal harbor is established at Pelican Bay on the south side of Dauphin Island. However, in 1720 the capital is transferred to New Biloxi and then to New Orleans in 1722, thereby reducing Mobile’s influence and importance.
From 1763 to 1780, Mobile is transferred to British dominion at the Treaty of Paris and in 1780, Bernardo de Galvez besieges and captures the city until in 1814 when it is captured by the American General Wilkinson. From 1815 to 1861, Mobile enjoys a half-century of prosperity as the second largest international seaport on the Gulf Coast. The growing business of cotton as an export contributes heavily to this success. The Mobile and Ohio railroad is also completed during this period. From 1861 to 1865, Mobile is fortified by the Confederates and blockaded during the Civil War by Farragut’s “West Gulf Blockading Squadron,” and the Battle of Mobile Bay is fought in August 1864.
Historical points of interest for visitors to Mobile Bay include the city’s five historic house-museums which are open to the public year-round and display artifacts native to this land and treasures brought from far away; the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park; as well as Fort Condé, home to the City’s Official Welcome Center which also happens to be an authentic replica of the original French fort dating back to the 1700s. Costumed guides welcome visitors with live cannon and musket demonstrations and displays offer highlights of the city’s historic past.
Interesting historical anecdotes include the fact that the original Mardi Gras in the U.S. was instituted in Mobile Bay in 1704 — some 62 years before New Orleans adopted the celebration. Also, Mobile Bay was the first body of water in the New World to be accurately charted (by Pineda in 1519). Additionally, the international trade sustained by Mobile throughout her 300-year history provided even the earliest settlers with the finer things from Europe, England, the Mediterranean, and the Orient. In fact, the cotton boom of the early 19th century brought an explosion of commerce to what had once been a sleepy frontier town. By the 1850s, Mobile was one of the four busiest ports in the U.S., and the wealth created by this trade brought the city to a cultural high point. It became well known throughout the country and the world.
Today, Mobile Bay is considered to be one of the most historically significant cities of the south due to its noteworthy accomplishments and the fact that the city has worked hard to preserve the icons of its past including its architecture, culture, and traditions.
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History
