 |
Preserving tangible links to the past
for the
benefit of present and future generations.
(251) 432-6161
Oakleigh Historic House
300 Oakleigh Place
Mobile, AL 36604
The Official Period House of
the City of Mobile, AL
Oakleigh Mansion phone:
(251) 432-1281
Site Last
Updated:
12/31/2007 11:43:26 AM |
|
A Timeline of major events in the History of Mobile
|
1702
|
Mobile
is founded by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville and
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville as capital of French
Louisiana |
|
1711 |
Mobile is moved
to present site |
|
1763
|
England acquires Mobile
in Treaty of Par |
|
1780 |
Don Bernardo de Galvez captures Mobile for Spain
|
|
1799
|
Ellicot survey stone is erected marking the 31st
parallel boundary between the United States and Spain |
|
1802 |
Spain returns Louisiana
territory to France, but status of Mobile as part of territory
is ambiguous
|
|
1803
|
United States purchases
Louisiana territory from France |
|
1813
|
Mobile is occupied by U.S.Army, April 13; massacre occurs at
Fort Mims, August 30; city population less that
one thousand
|
|
1814
|
City of Mobile
incorporated by Mississippi Territory on January 20; is governed
by board of commissioners
|
|
1819
|
Mobile becomes city in the
new state of Alabama; adopts mayor-alderman form of government;
Creole Fire Company is established; first river steamboat
arrives
|
|
1823 |
Fort Conde' (Charlotte) is demolished |
|
1827
|
Fire consumes two-thirds of business district; city
starts to rebuild with brick |
|
1830
|
Springhill College is
founded |
|
1830-31
|
Michael Krafft/Cowbellian
de Rakin Society begins carnival tradition on New Year's Eve
|
|
1830-60 |
Cotton becomes
increasingly important export; Mobile is second leading
cotton exporter in South; population nears thirty
thousand by 1860 |
|
1836 |
Barton Academy, Alabama's first public school building, is
constructed |
|
1839
|
Three great fires burn
much of downtown |
|
1840
|
Mobile adds common
council as second legislative body |
|
1843
|
Mobile experiences first city
bankruptcy
|
|
1853 |
Most serious antebellun yellow fever outbreak occurs |
|
1855-56 |
City Hall/Southern
Market (now Museum of Mobile) is constructed |
|
1859
|
Medical College of Alabama
opens in Mobile
|
|
1861
|
State of Alabama passes
secession ordinance, January 11; many Mobilians celebrate
|
|
1861-64 |
Blockade produces
shortages; Mobile fortifies extensively against Union
attack |
|
1863
|
"Bread and Peace" riot occurs
in September
|
|
1864
|
Battle of Mobile Bay puts
lower bay in federal hands, August 6; port is completely closed
|
|
1865
|
Mobile surrenders to
Union forces, April 12 |
|
1866 |
Joe Cain parades as
Chief Slakabamorinico on Fat Tuesday |
|
1867
|
Reconstruction Act passes;
Republicans and freed blacks join forces; Republicans take
control of city offices
|
|
1868
|
Order of Myths (OOM) first Mardi Gras parade occur
|
|
1869 |
Infant Mystics
first parade occurs |
|
1874 |
Democrats regain
political control of city |
|
1879
|
City is in default of
all obligations; state legislature passes act replacing
City of Mobile with Port of Mobile to save money |
|
1879-80 |
Telephone service begins |
|
1880
|
Mobile County Training
School for African American students opens |
|
1886 |
Debt issue is solve, citizens
lobby for more autonomy; state legislature passes bill establishing mayor-general council form of
government |
|
1888 |
Paid municipal fire
department is established; Corp of Engineers deepens ship
channel to 23 feet so oceangoing vessels can reach city docks on
year-round basis
|
|
1893
|
Electric streetcars come to
Mobile; Monroe Park open
|
|
1897
|
Last yellow fever
epidemic occurs |
|
1900 |
Population of Mobile
reaches 40,000; forest products displace cotton as
port's largest export |
|
1901
|
New state constitution
leads to hardening of racial customs and loss of civil
and political rights for blacks |
|
1905
|
Original Battle House
burns; "new" Battle House opens three years later |
|
1906
|
City is hit by
hurricane and South Mobile County is devastated by the
storm |
|
1911
|
Mayor-council form of
government is replaced with three commissioners
|
|
1913
|
Woodrow Wilson visits
Mobile and speaks at the Southern Commercial Congress
meeting at the Lyric Theater on October 27, pledging
that the United States will not seek additional
territory in the Americas |
|
1916
|
Alabama Dry Dock and
Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) is create;
town of Chicksaw and Chickasaw shipyards are established by U.S.
Steel; Mobile is hitby hurricane on July 4-5
|
|
1919
|
Fire destroys forty
blocks of city south of Government Street |
|
1920 |
Population of Mobile reaches
60,000; Mardi Gras resumes after two-year war interruption
|
|
1926 |
In April, 1,800
students from Barton Academy move to new Mobile High
School (renamed Murphy High School two years later);
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP) is reactivated ( a first
chapter in 1919 operated briefly); last hurricane to hit
Mobile until 1979 occurs |
|
1927
|
Alabama State Docks opens;
Cochrane Bridge opens; first Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is
held
|
|
1932 |
Bellingrath Gardens opens to public tours |
|
1935 |
Historic Mobile
Preservation Society is formed (now the state’s oldest
grassroots preservation organization) |
|
1936 |
State Teachers Branch
Junior College ( the "Branch"), originally a branch of
Alabama State University, is established as a two -year
college (now Bishop State Community College) |
|
1939 |
Population of Mobile
exceeds 70,000 |
|
1940
|
War in Europe generates
local defense spending; U.S. Army begins construction of Brookley Field; Department of Defense
appropriates millions for shipbuilding |
|
1940-45 |
Defense work opens up
opportunities for women and African Americans |
|
1941
|
Population of
Mobile reaches 112,000; Bankhead Tunnel opens,
Febuary 20 |
|
1943 |
Population of city expands to
125,000; 40,000 workers are employed at shipyards, 17,000 at Brookley Field; Mobile builds
an average of one ship per week and repairs and overhauls more
than 2,000 other vessels during war |
|
1946
|
In response to a suit brought
by John LeFlore in federal court,
blacks are granted right to vote in Democratic Party primary;
Mardi Gras resumes after four- year war interruption
|
|
1947 |
First postwar multistory
building, the Waterman building (now downtown Wachovia
Bank building) is constructed |
|
1951
|
First Senior Bowl game
is played in Mobile |
|
1954 |
In Brown v. Board of
Education, in U.S. Supreme Court rules segregation illegal;
racial tensions increase in Mobile and across South
|
|
1955 |
City of Mobile and
Historic Mobile Preservation Society enter into a
management agreement that establishes Oakleigh mansion
as the city’s Official Period House Museum |
|
1956
|
Alabama prohibits NAACP
from operating in state; Non-Partisan Voters League (NPVL) led by John LeFlore, becomes premier civil
rights organization in Mobile area |
|
1957
|
Annexation nearly
triples size of city |
|
1958 |
First Junior Miss
pageant is held |
|
1962
|
Mobile Historic
Development Commission is established
|
|
1963
|
Segregated
seating on city buses ends; Mobile County public school
desegregation suit (Birdie Mae Davis case) is filed in
U.S. district court and becomes one of the longest
running desegregation cases in U.S. history, not being
settled until 1999; University of South Alabama is founded,
with first classes held in 1964 |
|
1964
|
U.S. Department of
Defense announces the closure of Brookley
Field; Chamber of Commerce sets up Task Force 200 to attract new
industries; Mobile Civic Center and art gallery open; Mobile
College (later University of Mobile) is founded; DeTonti Square,
Mobile's first historic district, is organized |
|
1965
|
USS Alabama Battleship
Memorial Park opens as a tourist attraction |
|
1968
|
Neighborhood Organized
Workers (NOW) emerges in Mobile as major civil rights
organization |
|
1973
|
Bayway and George C. Wallace Tunnel are completed
|
|
1974 |
Mobile Greyhound Park
opens; City Hall/Southern Market building is designated
a National Historic Landmark |
|
1976
|
Judge rules in Wiley L.
Bolden v. City of Mobile that Mobile's form of city government is discriminatory;
city appeals; courts eventually uphold ruling; reconstructed
Fort Conde opens in honor of America's bicentennial
|
|
1979
|
Hurricane
Frederic slams into Mobile and Gulf Coast, with more
that $2 billion in damages; first oil well is drilled in
Mobile Bay |
|
1982
|
I-65 link across Mobile-Tensaw Delta is completed |
|
1984 |
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway opens |
|
1985
|
City changed
government to mayor-council form |
|
1992 |
Government Street
Presbyterian Church is designated a National Historic
Landmark |
|
1993 |
Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile
Convention Center opens
|
|
1995
|
Mobile is named "All American
City" by National Civic League; downtown historic revival
accelerates; Government Plaza is constructed
|
|
1996
|
Bay Bears stadium is
constructed, named for Mobilian Hank Aaron
|
|
1997
|
Cathedral Square, the
heart of Mobile’s arts district, opens |
|
1998
|
Gulf Coast Exploreum opens
|
|
1999 |
Frederick P. Whiddon resigns
as president of the University of South Alabama after thirty-five years; Gordon Moulton is
appointed successor
|
|
2000 |
City acquires Saenger Theater: Midtown, Mobile's eighth historic
district, is established
|
|
2001-02 |
Mobile celebrates its 300th anniversary |
|
2004 |
Hurricane
Ivan hits Mobile, the first major hurricane since 1979
|
|
2005 |
Mobile elects its first
African-American Mayor, Sam Jones |
|
2005 |
Hurricane Katrina, a
devastating hurricane which ravaged most of the Gulf Coast,
particularly coastal Mississippi and New Orleans, creates severe
damage to Mobile County areas including Coden and Bayou
LaBatre
|
|
2006
|
Restoration of the
historic Battle House Hotel and construction of Alabama’s
tallest skyscraper in downtown Mobile are well under way,
marking a renaissance of economic development in the city
|
|
(Primary source of timeline:
Michael Thomason, Ph.D., retired, long-time University of South
Alabama professor of history and director of USA Archives.) |
|
HMPS appreciates the
generous support of our
Corporate Partners:
AT&T/The Real
Yellow Pages
BLP/Mobile Paints
Farnell Heating & AC
Harrison
Brothers
Kimberly-Clark
Peebles &
Cameron
Regions
Bank
Simply Shutters
TAG/The Architects
Group
WKRG/TV5
The Oakleigh Historic Museums are
open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Daily, Year-Round
Groups are welcome and special rates
apply. Reservations should be made in advance for groups of more than 10. School
groups are invited to picnic on the grounds after their tours.
HMPS Activities
(Additional activities may be added or events may be
cancelled due to weather or lack of participation.)
For info call (251) 432-6161 or
(251) 432-1281
or Email
hmps@bellsouth.net
February 21, 2008
Voices that Are Gone,
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A moving Readers' Theatre using Oakleigh’s Cook’s House to explore and
celebrate the experiences of persons of color living in Mobile in the 19th
century. Admission: HMPS members, $20; non-members, $25. Admission
includes refreshments inspired by traditional African-American recipes.
Call
(251) 432-6161 or email hmps@bellsouth.net
for reservations and information.
March 14-15, 2008
Mobile Historic Homes Tour,
10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit architecturally significant private homes and sacred
spaces in selected historic districts.
One-day ticket, $12 to HMPS members, $15 for non-members. Two-day ticket, $20
for HMPS members, $25 for non-members. Groups of 10 or more receive same rate as
HMPS members. For information or to order tickets, call 251-432-6161.
All ticket purchasers will be entered into a drawing for a cruise and other
prizes.
May 2008
National Historic Preservation Month
Many activities throughout the month, TBA.
Special speakers and presentations, children’s activities, a field trip. Mark
your calendar for the National Historic Preservation Month Picnic on the
lawn of Oakleigh for HMPS member, guests and the public, featuring
authentic arts and crafts, preservation salvage materials for sale, antique
furniture, decorative arts, cars and more, 1-4 p.m. Picnic admission: HMPS
members, FREE, non-member adults, $10, children, $5. Admission includes
picnic lunch and non-alcoholic beverages and free museum and tours.
June 5, 2008
Bravery & Beauty
Mint Julep Party,
5-8 p.m.
A celebration in honor of the June 1877 visit to Oakleigh by
James A. Garfield (later a president of the U.S.) when CSA Gen. T.K.
Irwin served him his first mint julep. Garfield's diary entry of that
occasion states: “The bravery and beauty of Mobile were there.” HMPS
members, $15; general admission, $25 per person and $45 per couple. No one
under age 21 admitted. All guests receive complimentary mint juleps and
non-alcoholic juleps. (Cash bar for non-julep speciality beverages.) Silent
auction and live music.
YOU can participate in the Barton restoration project...
Blue Roof pins are still on sale at the Oakleigh House Museum Gift Shop.
New Orleans stained glass artist Paulette Lizano has created a unique array of
colorful small glass houses with distinctive post-Katrina-blue roofs. Sales of
the pins will benefit Historic Mobile Preservation Society’s “Save Barton
Academy” efforts. Barton Academy, Alabama’s first public school and a landmark
on Mobile’s Government Street since the early 19th century, has been named among
the top Places in Peril by the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and the
Alabama Historical Commission.
HMPS is working in cooperation with the Mobile County Public
School Commission and local, state and national entities to pursue restoration
of this architectural treasure.
Each pin, which can also be worn as a pendant, is available for
purchase in the Oakleigh Gift Shop for $20 plus tax. A portion of the purchase
is tax-deductible and purchasers will receive confirmation of contribution for
tax purposes.
For information, please call Marilyn Culpepper, Executive
Director, 251-432-6161 or email
hmps@bellsouth.net.
Thank you for visiting. Since Saturday, February 11, 2006 you are
visitor number:
Historic Mobile Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation.
It receives principal funding through memberships and fundraising. HMPS
received funding for operations and/or special programs for the 2007 fiscal year
from the following entities:
The City of Mobile
The J.L. Bedsole Foundation
The Hearin-Chandler Foundation
The Crampton Trust
The Community Foundation of South Alabama: "Friends of Oakleigh" fund |
