Mobile ( , ) is a city and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson and Madison County, Alabama, Ma ...

, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobile's population increased to 204,689 residents, making it the second-most populous city in Alabama. Mobile is the principal municipality of the

Mobile metropolitan area The Mobile Metropolitan Area comprises Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile in the southwest corner of Alabama in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the metropolitan area had a population of 430,197. The Mobile metropoli ...

. Alabama's only saltwater port, Mobile is located on the

Mobile River The Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georg ...

at the head of

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. T ...

on the north-central

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

. The

Port of Mobile The Port of Mobile is a deep-water port in Mobile, Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the only deep-water port in Alabama. It was ranked by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as the 9th largest port by tonnage in the nation d ...

has always played a key role in the economic health of the city, beginning with the settlement as an important trading center between the French colonists and

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, down to its current role as the 12th-largest port in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.Drechsel, Emanuel. ''Mobilian Jargon: Linguistic and Sociohistorical Aspects of a Native American Pidgin''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the city surrendered to Federal forces on April 12, 1865, after

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Unio ...

victories at two forts protecting the city. Considered one of the

's cultural centers, Mobile has several art museums, a symphony orchestra, professional opera, professional ballet company, and a large concentration of historic architecture. Mobile is known for having the oldest organized

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

celebrations in the United States. Alabama's French Creole population celebrated this festival from the first decade of the 18th century. Beginning in 1830, Mobile was host to the first formally organized Carnival

mystic society A mystic society is a Mardi Gras social organization in Mobile, Alabama, that presents parades and/or balls for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. The New Orleans Krewe is patterned after Mobile's Mystics."Carnival/Mobile Mardi ...

to celebrate with a parade in the United States. (In New Orleans, such a group is called a ''krewe''.)

History

Etymology

The city gained its name from the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living in the area of

. Although it is debated by Alabama historians, they may have been descendants of the Native American tribe whose small fortress town,

Mabila Mabila (also spelled Mavila, Mavilla, Maubila, or Mauvilla, as influenced by Spanish or French transliterations) was a small fortress town known to the paramount chief Tuskaloosa in 1540, in a region of present-day central Alabama. The exact loca ...

, was used to conceal several thousand native warriors before an attack in 1540 on the expedition of Spanish explorer

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

. About seven years after the founding of the French Mobile settlement, the Mobile tribe, along with the Tohomé, gained permission from the colonists to settle near the fort.

Colonial

The European settlement of Mobile began with French colonists, who in 1702 constructed ''

Fort Louis de la Louisiane The Old Mobile Site was the location of the French settlement ''La Mobile'' and the associated Fort ''Louis de La Louisiane'', in the French colony of New France in North America, from 1702 until 1712. The site is located in Le Moyne, Alabama, ...

'', at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the

, as the first capital of the

French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...

La Louisiane Louisiana or French Louisiana was a district of New France. In 1682 the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle erected a cross near the mouth of the Mississippi River and claimed the whole of the drainage basin of the Missis ...

. It was founded by

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

brothers

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...

and

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French-Canadian colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of Louisiana (New France) ...

, to establish control over France's claims to ''La Louisiane''. Bienville was appointed as royal governor of French Louisiana in 1701. Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20, 1703, by

Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de St. Vallier (November 14, 1653 – December 26, 1727) was a French Catholic prelate who served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Quebec in the French colony of New France. Born in Grenoble, Fra ...

, Bishop of Quebec.Higginbotham, Jay. ''Old Mobile: Fort Louis de la Louisiane, 1702–1711'', pages 106–107. Museum of the City of Mobile, 1977. . The parish was the first French Catholic parish established on the

Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states th ...

. In 1704, the ship ''Pélican'' delivered 23 Frenchwomen to the colony; passengers had contracted yellow fever at a stop in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 20–21. Though most of the "''Pélican'' girls" recovered, numerous colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease in turn and many died. This early period was also the occasion of the importation of the first African

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, transported aboard a French supply ship from the French colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, where they had first been held. The population of the colony fluctuated over the next few years, growing to 279 persons by 1708, yet shrinking to 178 persons two years later due to disease. These additional outbreaks of disease and a series of floods resulted in Bienville ordering in 1711 that the settlement be relocated several miles downriver to its present location at the confluence of the

and

. A new earth-and-palisade Fort Louis was constructed at the new site during this time. The capital of

was moved in 1720 to

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

, leaving Mobile to serve as a regional military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began and it was renamed Fort Condé in honor of

Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (Louis Henri Joseph; 18 August 1692 – 27 January 1740), was a French nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1723 to 1726. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a '' p ...

. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, which Britain won, defeating France. By this treaty, France ceded its territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain. This area was made a part of the expanded British

West Florida West Florida () was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. Great Britain established West and East Florida in 1763 out of land acquired from France and S ...

colony. The British changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte, after

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

. The British were eager not to lose any useful inhabitants and promised religious tolerance to the French colonists; ultimately 112 French colonists remained in Mobile.Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 44–45 The first permanent Jewish settlers came to Mobile in 1763 as a result of the new British rule and religious tolerance. Jews had not been allowed to officially reside in colonial French Louisiana due to the

Code Noir The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by King Louis XIV, Louis XIV of France in 1685 defining the conditions of Slavery in France, slavery in the French colonial empire and served as the code for slavery conduct in the French colonies ...

, a decree passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685 that forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies. Most of these colonial-era Jews in Mobile were merchants and traders from Sephardic Jewish communities in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

; they added to the commercial development of Mobile. In 1766 the total population was estimated to be 860, though the town's borders were smaller than during the French colonial period. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

fleeing the other colonies.Delaney, Caldwell. ''The Story of Mobile'', page 45. Mobile, Alabama: Gill Press, 1953. While the British were dealing with their rebellious colonists along the Atlantic coast, the Spanish entered the war in 1779 as an ally of France. They took the opportunity to order

Bernardo de Galvez Bernardo is a given name, possibly derived from the Germanic Bernhard. It may refer to: People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Francis Xavier * Bernardo Accolti (1465–1536), Italian ...

, Governor of Louisiana, on an expedition east to retake West Florida. He captured Mobile during the

Battle of Fort Charlotte The Battle of Fort Charlotte, also known as the siege of Fort Charlotte, was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish general Bernardo de Gálvez against the Kingdom of Great Britain, British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile, Alabama, Mo ...

in 1780, as part of this campaign. The Spanish wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony west of the Mississippi River, which they had received from France in the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Their actions were condoned by the revolting American colonies, partially evidenced by the presence of Oliver Pollack, representative of the American Continental Congress. Due to strong trade ties, many residents of Mobile and

remained loyal to the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. The Spanish renamed the fort as Fortaleza Carlota, and held Mobile as a part of Spanish

until 1813, when it was seized by United States General

James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy. He served in the Continental Army du ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

19th century

By the time Mobile was included in the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that was created under an organic act passed by the United States Congress, Congress of the United States. It was approved and signed into law by Presiden ...

in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The city was included in the

Alabama Territory The Territory of Alabama (sometimes Alabama Territory) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States. The Alabama Territory was carved from the Mississippi Territory on August 15, 1817 and lasted until December 14, 1819, when i ...

in 1817, after

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

gained statehood. Alabama was granted statehood in 1819; Mobile's population had increased to 809 by that time. Mobile was well situated for trade, as its location tied it to a river system that served as the principal navigational access for most of Alabama and a large part of Mississippi. River transportation was aided by the introduction of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

s in the early decades of the 19th century. By 1822, the city's population had risen to 2,800. The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

in Great Britain created shortages of cotton, driving up prices on world markets. Much land well suited to growing cotton lies in the vicinity of the

, and its main tributaries the

Tombigbee The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

and

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa River, Tallapoosa and Coosa River, Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Over a co ...

s. A plantation economy using slave labor developed in the region and as a consequence Mobile's population quickly grew. It came to be settled by attorneys,

cotton factor In the antebellum and Reconstruction era South, most cotton planters relied on cotton factors (also known as cotton brokers) to sell their crops for them. Description The cotton factor was usually located in an urban center of commerce, such as ...

s, doctors, merchants and other professionals seeking to capitalize on trade with the upriver areas. Convent Visitation 01

From the 1830s onward, Mobile expanded into a city of commerce with a primary focus on the cotton and slave trades. Many slaves were transported by ship in the

coastwise slave trade The coastwise slave trade existed along the southern and eastern coastal areas of the United States in the antebellum years prior to 1861. Hundreds of vessels of various capacities domestically traded loads of slaves along waterways, generally ...

from the Upper South. There were many businesses in the city related to the slave trade – people to make clothes, food, and supplies for the slave traders and their wards. The city's booming businesses attracted merchants from the North; by 1850 10% of its population was from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, which was deeply involved in the cotton industry. Mobile was the slave-trading center of the state until the 1850s, when it was surpassed by Montgomery. The prosperity stimulated a building boom that was underway by the mid-1830s, with the building of some of the most elaborate structures the city had seen up to that point. This was cut short in part by the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

and yellow fever epidemics. The waterfront was developed with wharves, terminal facilities, and fireproof brick warehouses. The exports of cotton grew in proportion to the amounts being produced in the Black Belt; by 1840 Mobile was second only to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in cotton exports in the nation. With the economy so focused on one crop, Mobile's fortunes were always tied to those of cotton, and the city weathered many financial crises. Mobile slaveholders owned relatively few slaves compared to planters in the upland

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

areas, but many households had domestic slaves, and many other slaves worked on the waterfront and on riverboats. The last slaves to enter the United States from the African trade were brought to Mobile on the slave ship ''Clotilda''. Among them was

Cudjoe Lewis Cudjoe Kazoola Lewis ( – July 17, 1935), born Oluale Kossola, and also known as Cudjo Lewis, was the third-to-last adult survivor of the Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the Americas. Together with 115 other African captives, he was broug ...

, who in the 1920s became the last survivor of the slave trade. Steamer loading cotton in Mobile

By 1853, fifty Jewish families lived in Mobile, including Philip Phillips (lawyer), Philip Phillips, an attorney from

, who was elected to the Alabama State Legislature and then to the United States Congress. Many early Jewish families were descendants of Sephardic Jews who had been among the earliest colonial settlers in Charleston and Savannah. By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th-largest city in the United States and 4th-largest in what would soon be the Confederate States of America. The free population in the whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which 1,195 were Person of color, free people of color. Additionally, 1,785 slave owners in the county held 11,376 people in bondage, about one-quarter of the total county population of 41,130 people. During the

, Mobile was a Confederate city. The ''H. L. Hunley (submarine), H. L. Hunley'', the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, was built in Mobile. One of the most famous naval engagements of the American Civil War, war was the Battle of Mobile Bay, resulting in the

taking control of

on August 5, 1864.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city'', page 113. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. On April 12, 1865, three days after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Battle of Appomattox Courthouse, Appomattox Courthouse, the city surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction after Union victories at nearby Battle of Spanish Fort, Spanish Fort and Battle of Fort Blakeley, Fort Blakeley. Mobile Cotton Exchange

On May 25, 1865, the city suffered great loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an Mobile magazine explosion, explosion at a Federal government of the United States, federal ammunition depot on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a deep hole at the depot's location, and sank ships docked on the Mobile River; the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city. Federal Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruction in Mobile began after the Civil War and effectively ended in 1874 when the local Democratic Party (United States), Democrats gained control of the city government.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city'', page 153. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. The last quarter of the 19th century was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile. One example can be provided by the value of Mobile's exports during this period of depression. The value of exports leaving the city fell from $9 million in 1878 to $3 million in 1882.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city'', p. 145. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001.

20th century

The turn of the 20th century brought the Progressive Era to Mobile. The economic structure developed with new industries, generating new jobs and attracting a significant increase in population.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City'', pages 154–169. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. The population increased from around 40,000 in 1900 to 60,000 by 1920. During this time the city received $3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels. During and after World War I, manufacturing became increasingly vital to Mobile's economic health, with shipbuilding and steel production being two of the most important industries. During this time, social justice and race relations in Mobile worsened, however. The state passed a new constitution in 1901 that Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era, disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites; and the white Democratic-dominated legislature passed other discriminatory legislation. In 1902, the city government passed Mobile's first racial segregation ordinance, segregating the city streetcars. It legislated what had been informal practice, enforced by convention. Mobile's African-American population responded to this with a two-month boycott, but the law was not repealed. After this, Mobile's ''de facto'' segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed Jim Crow laws to maintain white supremacy, supremacy. In 1911 the city adopted a commission form of government, which had three members elected by at-large voting. Considered to be progressive, as it would reduce the power of ward bosses, this change resulted in the elite white majority strengthening its power, as only the majority could gain election of at-large candidates. In addition, poor whites and blacks had already been disenfranchised. Mobile was one of the last cities to retain this form of government, which prevented smaller groups from electing candidates of their choice. But Alabama's white yeomanry had historically favored single-member districts in order to elect candidates of their choice.James Blacksher, Edward Still, Nick Quinton, Cullen Brown, and Royal Dumas, "Voting Rights in Alabama 1982–2006"
July 2006, RenewtheVRA.org, accessed March 12, 2015 The red imported fire ant was first introduced into the United States via the Port of Mobile. Sometime in the late 1930s they came ashore off cargo ships arriving from South America. The ants were carried in the soil used as ballast on those ships. They have spread throughout the South and Southwest. Liberty ship at sea

Type T2-SE-A1 tanker Hat Creek underway at sea on 16 August 1943

During World War II, the defense buildup in Mobile shipyards resulted in a considerable increase in the city's white middle-class and working-class population, largely due to the massive influx of workers coming to work in the shipyards and at the Brookley Air Force Base, Brookley Army Air Field.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City'', pp. 213–217. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into Mobile to work for war effort industries. Mobile was one of eighteen United States cities producing Liberty ships. Its Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the Axis powers of World War II, Axis powers could sink them. ADDSCO also churned out a copious number of T2 tankers for the War Department. Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation, focused on building Cargo ship, freighters, s, and Minesweeper (ship), minesweepers. The rapid increase of population in the city produced crowded conditions, increasing social tensions in the competition for housing and good jobs. In May 1943, a race riot broke out between whites and blacks. ADDSCO management had long maintained segregated conditions at the shipyards, although the Roosevelt administration had ordered defense contractors to integrate facilities. That year ADDSCO promoted 12 blacks to positions as welders, previously reserved for whites; and whites objected to the change by rioting on May 24. The mayor appealed to the governor to call in the National Guard (United States), National Guard to restore order, but it was weeks before officials allowed African Americans to return to work.Scotty E. Kirkland, "Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO)"
''Encyclopedia of Alabama'' online, 2008, update August 10, 2015 In the late 1940s, the transition to the postwar economy was hard for the city, as thousands of jobs were lost at the shipyards with the decline in the defense industry. Eventually the city's social structure began to become more liberal. Replacing shipbuilding as a primary economic force, the paper and chemical industries began to expand. No longer needed for defense, most of the old military bases were converted to civilian uses. Following the war, in which many African Americans had served, veterans and their supporters stepped up activism to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights and social justice, especially in the Jim Crow South. During the 1950s the City of Mobile integrated its police force and Spring Hill College accepted students of all races. Unlike in the rest of the state, by the early 1960s the city buses and lunch counters voluntarily desegregated. The Alabama legislature passed the Cater Act in 1949, allowing cities and counties to set up industrial development boards (IDB) to issue municipal bonds as incentives to attract new industry into their local areas. The city of Mobile did not establish a Cater Act board until 1962. George E. McNally, Mobile's first Republican mayor since Reconstruction, was the driving force behind the founding of the IDB. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, believing its members were better qualified to attract new businesses and industry to the area, considered the new IDB as a serious rival. After several years of political squabbling, the Chamber of Commerce emerged victorious. While McNally's IDB prompted the Chamber of Commerce to become more proactive in attracting new industry, the chamber effectively shut Mobile city government out of economic development decisions. In 1963, three African-American students brought a case against the Mobile County School Board for being denied admission to Murphy High School, Alabama, Murphy High School.Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 260–261 This was nearly a decade after the United States Supreme Court had ruled in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The federal district court ordered that the three students be admitted to Murphy for the 1964 school year, leading to the desegregation of Mobile County's school system. The civil rights movement gained congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, which increased the percentage of black residents able to vote, ended multiple forms of segregation, and allowed the NAACP to return to Mobile. However, the city's commission form of government with at-large voting resulted in all positions being elected by the white majority, as African Americans could not command a majority for their candidates in the informally segregated city. Many forms of De_facto#Segregation, de facto segregation persisted for decades. Downtown Mobile 2008 03

In 1969, the Brookley Air Force Base was closed by the Department of Defense, dealing a blow to Mobile's economy. It affected about 10% of workers in the city. In total, 16,000 people lost their job. Mobile's city commission form of government was challenged and finally overturned in 1982 in ''City of Mobile v. Bolden'', which was remanded by the United States Supreme Court to the district court. Finding that the city had adopted a commission form of government in 1911 and at-large positions with discriminatory intent, the court proposed that the three members of the city commission should be elected from single-member districts, likely ending their division of executive functions among them. Mobile's state legislative delegation in 1985 finally enacted a mayor-council form of government, with seven members elected from single-member districts. This was approved by voters. As white conservatives increasingly entered the Republican Party in the late 20th century, African-American residents of the city have elected members of the Democratic Party as their candidates of choice. Since the change to single-member districts, more women and African Americans were elected to the council than under the at-large system. Beginning in the late 1980s, newly elected mayor Mike Dow and the city council began an effort termed the "String of Pearls Initiative" to make Mobile into a competitive city. The city initiated construction of numerous new facilities and projects, and the restoration of hundreds of historic downtown buildings and homes. City and county leaders also made efforts to attract new business ventures to the area.

Geography

Mobile is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , with of it being land, and , or 22.5% of the total, being covered by water. The elevation in Mobile ranges from on Water Street in downtown to at the Mobile Regional Airport.

Neighborhoods

Mobile has a number of notable historic neighborhoods. These include Ashland Place Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Ashland Place, Campground Historic District, Campground, Church Street East Historic District, Church Street East, De Tonti Square Historic District, De Tonti Square, Leinkauf Historic District, Leinkauf, Lower Dauphin Street Historic District, Lower Dauphin Street, Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Midtown, Oakleigh Garden Historic District, Oakleigh Garden, Old Dauphin Way Historic District, Old Dauphin Way, Spring Hill (Mobile, Alabama), Spring Hill, and Toulminville.

Climate

Mobile's geographical location on the Gulf of Mexico provides a mild humid subtropical climate, subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen ''Cfa''), with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. The record low temperature was , set on February 13, 1899, and the record high was , set on August 29, 2000. A 2007 study determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with of average annual rainfall over a 30-year period.Thompsen, Andrea (May 22, 2007)
Study Reveals Top 10 Wettest United States Cities.
Mobile averages 120 days per year with at least of rain. Precipitation is heavy year-round. On average, July and August are the wettest months, with frequent and often-heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. October stands out as a slightly drier month than all others. Snow is rare in Mobile. The most recent snowfall event occurred January 20–22, 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard, January 21, 2025, which produced record-breaking accumulations of up to 8.5 inches within the city and near-blizzard conditions. The snowfall event previous to this one was on December 8, 2017. Mobile is occasionally affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes. The city suffered a major natural disaster on the night of September 12, 1979, when Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, category-3 Hurricane Frederic passed over the heart of the city. The storm caused tremendous damage to Mobile and the surrounding area. Mobile had moderate damage from Hurricane Opal on October 4, 1995, and Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004. Mobile suffered millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which damaged much of the Gulf Coast cities. A storm surge of , topped by higher waves, damaged eastern sections of the city with extensive flooding in downtown, the Battleship Parkway, and the elevated Jubilee Parkway.

Christmas Day tornado

House on Springhill Avenue Mobile 12-29-2012

In late December 2012, the city suffered two tornado hits. On December 25, 2012, at 4:54 pm, a large wedge tornado touched down in the city. The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved north-northeast at speeds of up to . The path took the tornado into Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Midtown, causing damage or destruction to at least 100 structures. The heaviest damage to houses was along Carlen Street, Rickarby Place, Dauphin Street, Old Shell Road, Margaret Street, Silverwood Street, and Springhill Avenue. The tornado caused significant damage to the Carmelite Monastery, Little Flower Catholic Church, commercial real estate along Airport Boulevard (Mobile, Alabama), Airport Boulevard and Government Street (Mobile, Alabama), Government Street in the Midtown at the Loop neighborhood, Murphy High School (Alabama), Murphy High School, Trinity Episcopal Church (Mobile, Alabama), Trinity Episcopal Church, Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim (Mobile, Alabama), Springhill Avenue Temple, and Mobile Infirmary Hospital before moving into the neighboring city of Prichard. The tornado was classified as an Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 tornado by the National Weather Service on December 26. The path taken through the city was just a short distance east of the path taken days earlier, on December 20, by an EF1 tornado which had touched down near Davidson High School (Mobile, Alabama), Davidson High School and taken a path ending in Prichard.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 187,041 people, 77,772 households, and 45,953 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 89,215 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 40.12% White, 51.06% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.23% of the population. After annexing areas west of the city in July 2023, Mobile's population increased to 204,689 residents, making it the second-most populous city in Alabama. The annexation shifted racial demographics; Mobile became a majority-minority city with Black or African American residents remaining the largest racial group. According to American Values Atlas data published in 2014, the majority of the population were Christians, with 36% identifying as white evangelical Protestant, 18% identifying as black Protestant, 13% as mainline Protestant, and 7% as Catholic. 14% of the population identified as unaffiliated with any religion. According to the 2024 American Community Survey estimates, 19.7% of the population was under 18. The median age was 38.6. The average family size was 3.13 people. The Median income, median household income in Mobile was $50,156, while the median income for a family was $73,717. 15.2% of the population were living below the poverty line.

Economy

Aerospace, steel, ship building, retail, services, construction, medicine, and manufacturing are Mobile's major industries. After having economic decline for several decades, Mobile's economy began to rebound in the late 1980s. Between 1993 and 2003 roughly 13,983 new jobs were created as 87 new companies were founded and 399 existing companies were expanded. Defunct companies that had been founded or based in Mobile included Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company, Delchamps, and Gayfers. Current companies that were formerly based in the city include Checkers (fast food), Checkers, Konica Minolta, Minolta-QMS, Morrison Management Specialists, Morrison's, and the Waterman Steamship Corporation. In addition to those discussed below, AlwaysHD, Foosackly's, Integrity Media, and Volkert, Inc. are headquartered in Mobile.

Major industry

Port of Mobile

Mobile's Port of Mobile, Alabama State Docks underwent the largest expansion in its history in the early 21st century. It expanded its container processing and storage facility and increased container storage at the docks by over 1,000% at a cost of over $300 million, a project completed in 2005. Despite the expansion of its container capabilities and the addition of two massive new cranes, the port went from 9th largest to the 12th largest by tonnage in the nation from 2008 to 2010.

Shipyards

Shipbuilding began to make a major comeback in Mobile in 1999 with the founding of Austal USA. A subsidiary of the Australian company Austal, it expanded its production facility for United States defense and commercial aluminum shipbuilding on Blakeley Island (Alabama), Blakeley Island in 2005. Austal announced in October 2012, after winning a new defense contract and completing another building within their complex on the island, that it would expand its workforce from 3,000 to 4,500 employees. Atlantic Marine operated a major shipyard at the former Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company site on Pinto Island. It was acquired by British defense conglomerate BAE Systems in May 2010 for $352 million. Doing business as BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards, the company continues to operate the site as a full-service shipyard, employing approximately 600 workers with plans to expand.

Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley

The Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley is an industrial complex and airport located south of the central business district of the city. It is the largest industrial and transportation complex in the region, having more than 70 companies, many of which are aerospace, spread over . Notable employers at Brookley include Airbus North America Engineering (EADS North America, Airbus Military North America's facilities are at the Mobile Regional Airport), VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering (a division of ST Engineering), and Continental Motors, Inc., Continental Motors. Plans for an Airbus A320 family aircraft assembly plant in Mobile were formally announced by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Center on July 2, 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the Brookley Aeroplex for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. It was planned to employ up roughly 1,000 full-time workers when fully operational. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 8, 2013, with it becoming operable by 2015 and producing up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017. The assembly plant is the company's first factory to be built within the United States. It was announced on February 1, 2013, that Airbus had hired Alabama-based Hoar Construction to oversee construction of the facility. The factory officially opened on September 14, 2015, covering one million square feet on 53 acres of flat grassland. On October 16, 2017, Airbus announced a partnership with Bombardier Aerospace, taking over a majority share of the Bombardier CSeries airliner program. As a result of this partnership, Airbus plans to open an assembly line for CSeries aircraft in Mobile, particularly to serve the US market. This effort may allow the companies to circumvent high import tariffs on the CSeries family. The aircraft was renamed the Airbus A220 on July 10, 2018. Production started in August 2019; the first A220 from the new line is due to be delivered to Delta in the third quarter of 2020.

ThyssenKrupp

German technology conglomerate ThyssenKrupp broke ground on a $4.65 billion combined stainless steel, stainless and carbon steel processing facility in Calvert, a few miles north of Mobile, in 2007. Original projections promised eventual employment for 2,700 people. The facility became operational in July 2010. The company put both its carbon mill in Calvert and a steel slab-making unit in Rio de Janeiro up for sale in May 2012, citing rising production costs and a worldwide decrease in demand. ThyssenKrupp's stainless steel division, Inoxum, including the stainless portion of the Calvert plant, was sold to Finnish stainless steel company Outokumpu, Outokumpu Oyi in 2012.

Top employers

According to the City's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

Unemployment rate

The United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted).

Arts and culture

Unlike other Alabama cities, Mobile's French and Spanish colonial history has given it a culture distinguished by French, Spanish, Alabama Creole people, Creole, African, and Catholic heritage, in addition to later British and American influences. The annual

celebration is an example of its differences. Mobile has the longest history of celebrating

in the United States, dating to the early 18th century during the French colonial period."Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history), Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage
LibCongress-2665
/ref> Carnival in Mobile evolved over 300 years from a sedate French Catholic tradition to a mainstream multi-week celebration. Mobile's official cultural ambassadors are the Azalea Trail Maids, meant to embody the ideals of Southern hospitality.

Carnival and Mardi Gras

The Carnival season has expanded throughout the late fall and winter: Ball (dance), balls in the city may be scheduled as early as November, with the parades beginning after January 5 and the Twelfth Day of Christmas or Epiphany on January 6. Carnival celebrations end at midnight on

, which falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. During the Carnival season, Mystic society, mystic societies build floats, parade through downtown, and toss small gifts to spectators. They also hold formal masquerade balls, usually by invitation only. Mobile Mardi Gras 2010 48

Carnival was first celebrated in Mobile in 1703 when colonial French Catholic settlers carried out their traditional celebration at the Old Mobile Site. Mobile's first Carnival society was established in 1711 with the ''Boeuf Gras Society'' (Fatted Ox Society). In 1830 Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade. The Cowbellions began their parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells. They introduced horse-drawn floats in 1840. The Striker's Independent Society, formed in 1843, is the oldest surviving mystic society in the United States. Carnival celebrations were canceled during the

. Founded in 2004, the Conde Explorers in 2005 were the first integrated Mardi Gras society to parade in downtown Mobile. The Explorers were featured in the documentary, ''The Order of Myths'' (2008), by Margaret Brown (film director), Margaret Brown about Mobile's Mardi Gras.

Archives and libraries

The National African American Archives and Museum features the history of African-American participation in Mardi Gras, slavery-era artifacts, and portraits and biographies of famous African Americans. The University of South Alabama Archives are open to the public and house primary sources relating to the history of the university, Mobile, and southern Alabama. The Mobile Municipal Archives contains the extant city records, dating from the Mississippi Territory period. The Mobile Genealogical Society Library and Media Center features handwritten manuscripts and published materials that are available for use in genealogical research. The Mobile Public Library system serves Mobile and consists of eight branches across Mobile County. Its local history and genealogy division is located near the Ben E. May, Ben May Main Library on Government Street. The Saint Ignatius Archives, Museum and Theological Research Library contains primary sources, artifacts, documents, photographs and publications that pertain to the history of Saint Ignatius Church and School, the Catholic history of the city, and the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Arts and entertainment

The Mobile Museum of Art features permanent exhibits that span several centuries of art and culture. The museum was expanded in 2002 to approximately . The Centre for the Living Arts is an organization that operates the historic Saenger Theatre (Mobile, Alabama), Saenger Theatre and Space 301, a contemporary art gallery. The Saenger Theatre opened in 1927 as a movie palace. Today it is a performing arts center, a small concert venue, and home to the Mobile Symphony Orchestra. The Crescent Theater in downtown Mobile has shown arthouse films since 2008. MobileDomeJuly07

The Mobile Civic Center contains three facilities under one roof. The building has an arena, a theater, and an exposition hall. It is the primary concert venue for the city and home to the Mobile Opera and Mobile Ballet. A variety of events are held at the Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center. The city has hosted the Greater Gulf State Fair, each October since 1955. The city hosted Bayfest (Mobile), BayFest, an annual three-day music festival, from 1995–2015. Mobile also holds the Ten Sixty Five free music festival. The Mobile Theatre Guild is a nonprofit community theatre that has served the city since 1947. It is a member of the Mobile Arts Council, an umbrella organization for the arts in Mobile. Mobile is also host to the Joe Jefferson Players, Alabama's oldest continually running community theatre. The group debuted on December 17, 1947, and was named in honor of comedic actor Joseph Jefferson, Joe Jefferson, who spent part of his teenage years in Mobile.

Museums

Mobile is home to a variety of museums. Battleship Memorial Park is a military park on the shore of Mobile Bay. It features the World War II era battleship , the World War II era submarine , Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials, and historical military equipment. The Old City Hall (Mobile, Alabama), History Museum of Mobile showcases centuries of local history in the Old City Hall (Mobile, Alabama), Old City Hall. The Oakleigh Historic Complex (Mobile, Alabama), Oakleigh Historic Complex are three house museums that portray the daily lives of enslaved, working class, and upper class people during the 19th century. The Mobile Carnival Museum houses the city's Mardi Gras in Mobile, Mardi Gras history and memorabilia. The Bragg-Mitchell Mansion (1855), Richards DAR House (1860), and the Conde-Charlotte House, Condé-Charlotte House (1822) are antebellum architecture, antebellum house museums. The Mobile Medical Museum in the French colonial-style Vincent-Doan House chronicles the history of medicine in the city. The Phoenix Fire Museum in the restored Phoenix Volunteer Fire Company Number 6 building covers fire companies dating to 1838. The Mobile Police Department Museum chronicles the history of the city's law enforcement. The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center is a non-profit science center located in downtown. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is located south of the city, on Dauphin Island near the mouth of

Historic architecture

Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile

Mobile has antebellum architectural examples of Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate architecture, Italianate, and Creole cottage. Later architectural styles in the city include the various Victorian architecture, Victorian types, Shotgun house, shotgun types, Colonial Revival architecture, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival architecture, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival, and Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts. The city's Historic districts in the United States, historic districts include: Old Dauphin Way Historic District, Old Dauphin Way, Oakleigh Garden Historic District, Oakleigh Garden, Lower Dauphin Street Historic District, Lower Dauphin Street, Leinkauf Historic District, Leinkauf, De Tonti Square Historic District, De Tonti Square, Church Street East Historic District, Church Street East, Ashland Place Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Ashland Place, Campground Historic District, Campground, and Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama), Midtown. Fires in 1827 and 1839 destroyed the city's primarily wooden colonial architecture. The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Mobile, Alabama), Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was built on the colonial-era Campo Santo cemetery, of which no trace remains. Several historic cemeteries were established shortly after the colonial era. The Church Street Graveyard contains above-ground tombs and monuments spread over and was founded in 1819. The nearby Magnolia Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama), Magnolia Cemetery was established in 1836 and served as Mobile's primary burial site during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mobile's Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim (Mobile, Alabama), Jewish community dates back to the 1820s, and the city has two historic Jewish cemetery, Jewish cemeteries, Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery and Ahavas Chesed Cemetery. Sha'arai Shomayim is the older of the two.

Sports

Football

Football is the most popular spectator sport in the state. Alabama has never had a top-level professional football team in the NFL, but Mobile is one of several Alabama cities with a college football tradition. Mobile has been home to the Senior Bowl since 1951, featuring the best college seniors in College football, NCAA football. Mobile is the home of two American football, football stadiums. The Ladd-Peebles Stadium opened in 1948 and has a current capacity of 40,646, making it the List of American football stadiums by capacity, fourth-largest stadium in the state. Hancock Whitney Stadium opened in 2020 on the campus of University of South Alabama and has a current capacity of 25,450. The 68 Ventures Bowl, originally known as the Mobile Alabama Bowl and later the GMAC Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, Dollar General Bowl, and LendingTree Bowl, has been played at Hancock Whitney Stadium since 2021. The game was originally played at Ladd–Peebles Stadium from 1999 to 2020. It features opponents from the Sun Belt Conference, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conference, Mid-American conferences. Since 1988, Ladd–Peebles Stadium has hosted the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. The top graduating high school seniors from their respective states compete each June. The University of South Alabama in Mobile established a football team in 2007, which went undefeated in its 2009 inaugural season. Their program moved to Division I/FBS in 2013 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The team currently plays at Hancock Whitney Stadium, after playing at Ladd-Peebles Stadium prior to the start of the 2020 Season.

Other sports and facilities

Mobile has been home to Minor League Baseball teams from the late nineteenth century to 2019. Three Southern League (1885–1899), Southern League teams operated out of Mobile intermittently in the nineteenth century: the Swamp Angels, Blackbirds, and Bluebirds. In the twentieth century, several teams, each called the Bears, operated at different times. Mobile's Hank Aaron Stadium was the home of the Minor League Mobile BayBears from 1997 to 2019. South Alabama basketball is a mid-major team in the Sun Belt Conference. They play their home games at the Mitchell Center. The Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex is home of AFC Mobile, which is a National Premier Soccer League team. The public Mobile Tennis Center includes over 50 courts, all lighted and hard-court. For golfers, Magnolia Grove, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, has 36 holes. The Falls course was recently named the best par 3 course in America. The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions was played annually at Magnolia Grove from 1999 through 2007. The Mobile Bay LPGA Classic took its place in 2008, also held at Mobile's Magnolia Grove. Mobile is home to the Azalea Trail Run, which races through historic midtown and downtown Mobile. This 10k run has been an annual event since 1978. The Azalea Trail Run is one of the premier 10k road races in the United States, attracting runners from all over the world.

Parks and recreation

The Mobile Botanical Gardens feature a variety of flora spread over . It contains the Millie McConnell Rhododendron Garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azaleas and the Longleaf Pine Habitat. Bellingrath Gardens and Home, located on Fowl River, is a botanical garden and historic mansion that dates to the 1930s. The 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center is a facility that allows visitors to learn about and access the Mobile River, Mobile, Tensaw River, Tensaw, Apalachee River (Alabama), Apalachee, Middle River (Alabama), Middle, Blakeley River, Blakeley, and Spanish River (Alabama), Spanish rivers. It was established to serve as an easily accessible gateway to the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. It offers boat and adventure tours, a small theater, an exhibit hall, meeting facilities, walking trails, and a canoe and kayak landing. Mobile has more than 45 public parks within its limits, with some that are of special note. Bienville Square is a historic park in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District. It assumed its current form in 1850 and is named for Mobile's founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. It was once the principal gathering place for residents, when the city was smaller, and remains popular today. Cathedral Square (Mobile, Alabama), Cathedral Square is a one-block performing arts park, also in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District, which is overlooked by the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The Fort of Colonial Mobile is a reconstruction of the city's original Fort Condé, built on the original fort's footprint. It serves as the official welcome center and a colonial-era living history museum. Spanish Plaza is a downtown park that honors the Spanish phase of the city between 1780 and 1813. It features the ''Arches of Friendship'', a fountain presented to Mobile by the city of Málaga, Spain. Langan (Municipal) Park, Langan Park, the largest of the parks at , features lakes, natural spaces, and contains the Mobile Museum of Art, Azalea City Golf Course, Mobile Botanical Gardens and Playhouse in the Park.

Government

Since 1985 the government of Mobile has consisted of a mayor and a seven-member city council. The council members are elected from each of the seven city council single-member districts (SMDs). A supermajority of five votes is required to conduct most council business. This form of city government was chosen by the voters after the previous form of government, which had three city commissioners, each elected at-large, was ruled in 1975 to substantially dilute the minority vote and violate the Voting Rights Act in ''Mobile v. Bolden, Bolden v. City of Mobile''. The three at-large commissioners each required a majority vote to win. Due to appeals, the case took time to reach settlement and establishment of a new electoral system.Thomason, Michael. ''Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City'', pp. 272–273. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001. Municipal elections are held every four years and are nonpartisan. Sam Jones (mayor), Sam Jones was elected in 2005 as the first African-American mayor of Mobile. He was re-elected for a second term in 2009 without opposition. His administration continued the focus on downtown redevelopment and bringing industries to the city. He ran for a third term in 2013 but was defeated by Sandy Stimpson. Stimpson took office on November 4, 2013, and was re-elected on August 22, 2017. As of January 2022, the seven-member city council is made up of Cory Penn from District 1, William Carroll from District 2, C.J. Small from District 3, Ben Reynolds from District 4, Joel Daves from District 5, Scott Jones from District 6, and Gina Gregory from District 7.

Education

Bishop State clock tower May 2012 cropped

Public schools

Public schools in Mobile are operated by the Mobile County Public School System. The Mobile County Public School System has an enrollment of approximately 55,200 students at 88 schools, employs approximately 7,026 public school employees, and had a budget in 2020–2021 of $623 million. The State of Alabama operates the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science on Dauphin Street in Mobile, which boards advanced Alabama high school students. It was founded in 1989 to identify, challenge, and educate future leaders.

Private and parochial schools

UMS-Wright Preparatory School is an independent co-educational university-preparatory school, preparatory school. It assumed its current configuration in 1988, when the University Military School (founded 1893) and the Julius T. Wright School for Girls (1923) merged to form UMS-Wright. Many parochial schools belong to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. These include McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (1896), Corpus Christi School, Little Flower Catholic School (1934), Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School (1900), Saint Dominic School (1961), Saint Ignatius School (1952), Saint Mary Catholic School (1867), Saint Pius X Catholic School (1957), and Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic School (1976). Notable Protestant schools include St. Paul's Episcopal School (1947), Mobile Christian School (1961), St. Lukes Episcopal School (1961), Cottage Hill Baptist School System (1961), Faith Academy (Mobile, Alabama), Faith Academy (1967), and Trinity Lutheran School (1955).

Tertiary

Major colleges and universities in Mobile that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools include the University of South Alabama, Spring Hill College, the University of Mobile, Faulkner University, and Bishop State Community College.

Undergraduate and postgraduate

The University of South Alabama is a public, Doctorate, doctoral-level university established in 1963. The university is composed of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Mitchell College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Medicine, the Doctor of Pharmacy Program, the College of Nursing, the School of Computing, and the School of Continuing Education and Special Programs. Faulkner University is a four-year private Churches of Christ, Church of Christ-affiliated university based in Montgomery, Alabama. The Mobile campus was established in 1975 and offers bachelor's degrees in Business Administration, Management of Human Resources, and Criminal Justice. It also offers associate degrees in Business Administration, Business Information Systems, Computer & Information Science, Criminal Justice, Informatics, Legal Studies, Arts, and Science. Spring Hill College, chartered in 1830, was the first Catholic college in the southeastern United States and is the third oldest Society of Jesus, Jesuit college in the country. This four-year private college offers graduate programs in Business Administration, Education, Liberal Arts, Nursing (MSN), and Theological Studies. Undergraduate divisions and programs include the Division of Business, the Communications/Arts Division, International Studies, Inter-divisional Studies, the Language and Literature Division, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Philosophy and Theology, Political Science, the Sciences Division, the Social Sciences Division, and the Teacher Education Division. The University of Mobile is a four-year private Baptist-affiliated university in the neighboring city of Prichard that was founded in 1961.

Community college

Bishop State Community College, founded in 1927, is a public, Historically black colleges and universities, historically African American, Community colleges in the United States, community college. Bishop State has four campuses in Mobile.

Vocational

Several post-secondary Vocational education, vocational institutions have a campus in Mobile. These include the Alabama Institute of Real Estate, American Academy of Hypnosis, Bealle School of Real Estate, Charles Academy of Beauty Culture, Fortis College, Virginia College, ITT Technical Institute, Remington College and White and Sons Barber College.

Media

Print

Mobile's ''Press-Register'' is Alabama's oldest active newspaper, first published in 1813."Newhouse News Service – The Press-Register" (description), Newhouse News Service, 2007, webpag
NH-Register
. The paper focuses on Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama, Baldwin counties and the city of Mobile, but also serves southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi. Mobile's alternative newspaper is the ''Lagniappe (newspaper), Lagniappe''. The Mobile area's local magazine is ''Mobile Bay Monthly''. The ''Mobile Beacon'' was an alternative focusing on Mobile's African-American communities that ran from 1943 to 2018. Mod Mobilian is a website with a focus on cultured living in Mobile.

Television

Mobile is served locally by a number of over-the-air television stations. These include WKRG, WKRG 5 (CBS), WALA, WALA 10 (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox), WPMI-TV, WPMI 15 (NBC), WMPV-TV, WMPV 21 (religious broadcasting, religious), WDPM-DT, WDPM 23 (religious), Alabama Public Television, WEIQ 42 (PBS), and WFNA (TV), WFNA 55 (The CW). The region is also served by WEAR-TV, WEAR 3 (American Broadcasting Company, ABC), WSRE, WSRE 31 (PBS), WHBR (TV), WHBR 34 (religious), WFGX, WFGX 35 (MyNetworkTV), WJTC, WJTC 44 (independent), WFBD, WFBD 48 (America One), WPAN, WPAN 53 (Jewelry Television), and WAWD, WAWD 58 (independent), all out of the Pensacola, Florida area. Mobile is part of the Mobile–Pensacola–Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Fort Walton Beach designated market area, as defined by Nielsen Media Research. It ranked 61st in the nation for the 2007–08 television season.

Radio

In total, 55 radio stations are located around the Mobile area and provide signals sufficiently strong to serve Mobile. Fourteen FM broadcasting, FM radio stations transmit from Mobile: WAVH, WBHY-FM, WBHY, WBLX-FM, WBLX, WDLT-FM, WDLT, WHIL (FM), WHIL, WKSJ-FM, WKSJ, WKSJ-HD2, WLVM, WMXC, WMXC-HD2, WQUA, WRKH, WRKH-HD2, and WZEW. Nine AM broadcasting, AM radio stations transmit from Mobile: WBHY (AM), WBHY, WABF (AM), WABF, WGOK, WIJD, WLPR-AM, WLPR, WMOB, WNGL, WNTM, and WXQW. The content ranges from Christian Contemporary to Hip hop to Top 40. In fall 2020, Nielsen Holdings, Nielsen ranked Mobile's radio market as the 102nd in the US. Some years earlier, Nielsen's predecessor, Arbitron ranked Mobile's radio market as 93rd in fall 2007.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air

Local airline passengers are served by the Mobile Regional Airport, with direct connections to four major hub airports. It is served by American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle, with service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte/Douglas International Airport; United Express, with service to George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Delta Connection, with service to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The Mobile Downtown Airport at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, Brookley Aeroplex serves corporate, cargo, and private aircraft.

Cycling paths

In an effort to leverage Mobile's waterways for recreational use, as opposed to simply industrial use, The Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail is being designed and implemented under the instruction of the City Council. The linear park will ultimately span seven miles, from Langan (Municipal) Park to Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, and include trailheads, sidewalks, and bike lanes. The existing greenway is centered at Tricentennial Park.

Rail

Mobile is served by four Class I railroads, including the Canadian National Railway (CNR), CSX Transportation (CSX), the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), and the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). The Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway (AGR), a Class III railroad, links Mobile to the BNSF Railway, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) at Amory, Mississippi. These converge at the Port of Mobile, which provides intermodal freight transport service to companies engaged in importing and exporting. Other railroads include the CG Railway (CGR), a rail ship service to Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and the Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks (TASD), a Switching and terminal railroad, switching railroad. The city was served by Amtrak's ''Sunset Limited'' passenger train service until 2005, when the service was suspended due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. However, efforts to restart passenger rail service between Mobile and

were revived in 2019 by the 21-member Southern Rail Commission after receiving a $33 million Federal Railroad Administration grant in June of that year. Louisiana quickly dedicated its $10 million toward the project, and Mississippi initially balked before committing its $15 million sum but Governor Kay Ivey resisted committing the estimated $2.7 million state allocation from Alabama because of concerns regarding long-term financial commitments and potential competition with freight traffic from the

. The Winter of 2019 was marked by repeated postponement of votes by the Mobile City Council as it requested more information on how rail traffic from the port would be impacted and where the Amtrak station would be built as community support for the project became more vocal, especially among millennials. A day before a deadline in the federal grant matching program being used to fund the project, the city council committed about $3 million in a 6–1 vote. About $2.2 million is still needed for infrastructure improvements and the train station must still be built before service begins. Potential locations for the station include at the foot of Government Street (Mobile, Alabama), Government Street in downtown and in the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, which is favored by the

Transit

The Wave Transit System provides fixed-route bus and demand-responsive transit, demand-response service in Mobile.

Roadways

Two major interstate highways and a spur converge in Mobile. Interstate 10 runs northeast to southwest across the city, while Interstate 65 starts in Mobile at Interstate 10 and runs north. Interstate 165 (Alabama), Interstate 165 connects to Interstate 65 north of the city in Prichard, Alabama, Prichard and joins Interstate 10 in downtown Mobile. Mobile is well served by many major highway systems. US Highways U.S. Route 31 in Alabama, US 31, US 43 (AL), US 43, US 45 (AL), US 45, US 90 (AL), US 90, and US 98 (AL), US 98 radiate from Mobile traveling east, west, and north. Mobile has three routes east across the Mobile River and Mobile Bay into neighboring Baldwin County, Alabama, Baldwin County. Interstate 10 leaves downtown through the George Wallace Tunnel under the river and then over the bay across the Jubilee Parkway to Spanish Fort, Alabama, Spanish Fort and Daphne, Alabama, Daphne. US 98 leaves downtown through the Bankhead Tunnel under the river, onto Blakeley Island (Alabama), Blakeley Island, and then over the bay across the Battleship Parkway into Spanish Fort. US 90 travels over the Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge to the north of downtown onto Blakeley Island, where it becomes co-routed with US 98. Mobile's public transportation is the The Wave Transit System, Wave Transit System which features buses with 18 fixed routes and neighborhood service. Baylinc is a public transportation bus service provided by the Baldwin Rural Transit System in cooperation with the Wave Transit System that provides service between eastern Baldwin County, Alabama, Baldwin County and downtown Mobile. Baylinc operates Monday through Friday. Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service between Mobile and many locations throughout the United States. Mobile is served by several taxi and limousine services.

Water

The

has public deepwater terminals with direct access to of inland and intracoastal waterways serving the Great Lakes, the Ohio River, Ohio and Tennessee River, Tennessee river valleys (via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway), and the Gulf of Mexico. The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates the public terminals at the Port of Mobile. The public terminals handle Containerization, containerized, bulk, breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off, and heavy-lift cargoes. The port is also home to private bulk terminal operators, as well as a number of highly specialized shipbuilding and repair companies with two of the largest floating dry docks on the Gulf Coast. The city was a home port for cruise ships from Carnival Cruise Lines. The first cruise ship to call the port home was the ''Holiday (ship), Holiday'', which left the city in November 2009 so that a larger and newer ship could take its place. The ''Carnival Fantasy'' operated from Mobile from then on until the ''Carnival Elation'' arrived in May 2010. In early 2011, Carnival announced that despite fully booked cruises, the company would cease operations from Mobile in October 2011. This cessation of cruise service left the city with an annual interest, debt service of around two million dollars related to the terminal. In September 2015, Carnival announced that the ''Carnival Fantasy'' was relocating from Miami, Florida, to Mobile and would offer four- and five-night cruises to Mexico that started in November 2016 through November 2017. Her first departure from Mobile left on November 9, 2016, on a five-night cruise to Cozumel and Progreso. ''Carnival Fascination'' will be replacing ''Carnival Fantasy'' in 2022.

Healthcare

Mobile serves the central Gulf Coast as a regional center for medicine. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center has 704 beds and is the largest nonprofit hospital in the state. It was founded in 1910. USA Health Providence Hospital, Providence Hospital has 349 beds. It was founded in 1854 by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland. The University of South Alabama Medical Center has 346 beds. Its roots go back to 1830 with the old city-owned Mobile City Hospital and associated medical school. A teaching hospital, it is designated as Mobile's only level I trauma center by the Alabama Department of Public Health. It is also a regional burn center. Springhill Medical Center, with 252 beds, was founded in 1975. It is Mobile's only for-profit facility. Additionally, the University of South Alabama operates the University of South Alabama Children's and Women's Hospital with 219 beds, dedicated exclusively to the care of women and minors. In 2008, the University of South Alabama opened the USA Mitchell Cancer Center Institute. The center is home to the first academic cancer research center in the central Gulf Coast region. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center operated Infirmary West, formerly Knollwood Hospital, with 100 acute-care beds, but closed the facility at the end of October 2012 due to declining revenues. BayPointe Hospital and Children's Residential Services is the only psychiatric hospital in the city. It houses a residential unit for children, an acute unit for children and adolescents, and an age-segregated involuntary hospital unit for adults undergoing evaluation ordered by the Mobile Probate Court. The city has a broad array of outpatient surgical centers, emergency clinics, home health care services, assisted-living facilities and Nursing home, skilled nursing facilities.

Notable people

* Jerry Carl – United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative * Rick Crawford (racing driver), Rick Crawford (born 1958) – racing driver * Anne Haney Cross (born 1956) – neurologist, section head of neuroimmunology at Washington University School of Medicine * George Washington Dennis ( – 1916) – former slave, turned entrepreneur and real estate developer in San Francisco, California; advocate for Black rights * Michael Figures (1947–1996) – American lawyer and politician who served in the Alabama Senate * Shomari Figures (born 1985) – U.S. representative from Alabama's 2nd congressional district * Thomas Figures (1944–2015) – first African American assistant district attorney and assistant United States Attorney * Flo Milli (born 2000) – rapper * Cale Gale (born 1985) – racing driver * Dorothy E. Hayes (1935–2015) – graphic designer, educatorDeMarko, Sharon (February 19, 1971). "Black Artists Graphics Displayed at Art Center". ''Pensacola News Journal''. p.&nbs
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– via Newspapers.com. * Vivian Malone Jones (1942–2005) – director in the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, integrated the University of Alabama and was its first black graduate * Charles Keller (military), Charles Keller (1868–1949) – former U.S. Army Brigadier General and the oldest Army officer to serve on active duty during World War IIHistorical Vignette 079 – The Oldest U.S. Army Officer to Serve in World War II Was an Engineer
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/ref> * Antonio Lang (born 1972) – American former professional basketball player and coach * Anne Bozeman Lyon (1860–1936) – writer * Alexander Lyons (1867–1939) – rabbi * Bubba Wallace (born 1993) – racing driver * Paul Bearer, William Moody (19542013) professional wrestling manager known for his time in WWE under the name "Paul Bearer"https://web.archive.org/web/20091120140240/http://percypringle.com/biography.html

Sister cities

Mobile has nine Sister city, sister cities:

Notes

References

External links

City of Mobile website
* {{Authority control Mobile, Alabama, Cities in Alabama Cities in Mobile County, Alabama Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States County seats in Alabama Mobile metropolitan area Port cities and towns of the United States Gulf Coast Colonial United States (Spanish) French-American culture in Alabama Populated coastal places in Alabama 1702 establishments in New France Alabama placenames of Native American origin Populated places established in 1702