'Old Mobile' historical marker tells of city's French roots, old location

This week’s featured historical marker is the “OLD MOBILE” marker that was erected in 2001 by the Christopher Branch Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames in Mobile, Alabama.

This marker is located in Mobile County on the east side of U.S. Highway 43. It can be found north of Creola and just west of the Mobile River. It’s also just south of the Barry Steam Plant. It is well south of the 18-mile marker, so if you’re traveling north on Highway 43 and pass that mile marker, turn around because you’ve gone too far.

The marker has text on both sides and both sides say the same thing, except one side says it in English and the other side says it in French. I suspect this was done as a tip of the hat to Mobile’s French founders. What follows is the complete text from both sides of the marker.

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“Site of OLD MOBILE, Fort Louis de la Louisiane, Founded 1702 by Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, Under orders of Louis XIV, First Capital of French Louisiana, 1702-1711, Erected by Christopher Branch Chapter, Mobile, Alabama, National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century, Dedicated September 29, 2001.”

“Site de Vieux Mobile, Fort Louis de la Louisiane Premiere, Capitale de la Louisiane Francaise, 1702-1711, Fondee par Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, par ordre de Louis XIV, Roi de France, Erigee par Colonial Dames XVII Century 29 Septembre, 2001.”

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Mobile, which was originally settled by the French, took its name from the Mobila Indians that lived in that area. Mobile was a French colony for about 100 years before the area fell into the hands of the British. Eventually, the Spanish took it from the English and thanks in large part to Andrew Jackson, the Spanish turned it over to the United States in 1813.

If you travel to this historical marker today, you’ll realize that it’s still a good drive from the present day location of the City of Mobile. The marker is on the city’s original site, which is now close to 27-Mile Bluff on the Mobile River. One of Mobile’s founders, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville (a mouthful, I know), eventually moved the city to its present location in 1711. He moved the city due to flooding and the outbreak of diseases like yellow fever.

Less than 200 people lived in Mobile in 1710, and about 300 people lived there in 1813 when it officially became a part of the United States. By the time of the Civil War, around 30,000 people lived within Mobile’s city limits, making it the fourth largest city in the Confederacy. Today, it’s the third largest city in Alabama with an estimated population of just under 200,000 residents.

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.