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Events and Programs
The Historic Mobile Preservation Society works year-round to provide educational opportunities, as well as fun and engaging programs for the community and visitors of Mobile. Tickets to select events may be purchased in advance.
2024 Boyington Oak Festival
May 4 & 5, 2024
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The Boyington Oak Festival is an annual event hosted by the Boyington Oak Society and the Historic Mobile Preservation Society. This year the event will be held May 4 & 5 at the Historic Oakleigh House located in Midtown Mobile. Featured in the event is the play “The Truth is in the Tree,” which tells the true story of Charles Boyington. Journeyman printer, poet, and musician, Charles Boyington, was hanged for the murder of his critically ill best friend. As he predicted would happen to prove his innocence, an oak tree grew from his gravesite in Mobile, Alabama. It still stands almost 200 years later. Tickets to the event are $55 and include the play, a tour of Historic Oakleigh, a trolly tour titled “Footsteps of Boyington,” and a signed copy of Boyington Oak: A Grave Injustice by Mary S. Palmer.
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Package Price: $55.00, includes:
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4th Production of Play ($20):
The Truth is in the Tree
Written by: Mary S. Palmer
Directed by: Dr. Stewart Hawley
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Oakleigh House Museum Tour ($10)
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Footsteps of Boyington - Gulf Coast Trolley Tour ($25)
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Signed copy, Boyington Oak: A Grave Injustice ($20)
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Drinks, Boarding House Crackers & SO jam delicious
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Note: $55 package saves $20 over individual purchases!
Children under 12 are free with a paying adult.
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Schedule for Both Days
1pm- Tour of Oakleigh/Trolley Tour
2pm- Tour of Oakleigh/Trolley Tour
3pm- Play The Truth is in the Tree
4pm- Tour of Oakleigh/Trolley Tour
5pm- Tour of Oakleigh/Trolley Tour
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Tickets: You can choose either the EARLY session (1-4PM) or the LATE session (3-6pm). Each session includes both tours and the play. Individual event tickets are also available.
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“Grand Dames, Artists, Activists, and Professionals: A History of Women in Historic Preservation in Mobile, Alabama” - with Cart Blackwell
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Thursday May 16, 2024
6pm
Historic Oakleigh House
$10, free for members
While the impactful role women have played in the historic preservation movement in the United States is very well documented, the subject more than warrants continued study. From the creation of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association in 1853 to the present, women have championed “why this place matters” long before that expression became a slogan. Women spearheaded historic preservation in Mobile, Alabama, from the movement’s beginning and play a leading role to this very day. Highlighting over one-hundred-and-sixty years of historic preservation in one of the oldest cities in United States through a study of nineteen preservation-minded ladies, this presentation examines how a discipline of international scope played out on the local level. Themes animating this narrative embrace, but are not limited to the broad range of roles within the field of historic preservation, varying responses to urban renewal, and the professionalization of a passion. In no way a succession of women who were the “woman behind the man,” this account celebrates women who established a field and bettered a community.