| Copyright 2008 by Dale Cox All rights reserved. |
Historic Blakeley State Park
The Lost City of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta
| The "Hanging Tree" at Blakeley This magnificent oak on Washington Square was supposedly once used for legal hangings at the lost town of Blakeley, Alabama. |
Historic Blakeley State Park takes its name from the "ghost
town" of Blakeley, Alabama. Once a prosperous river port and
community, the historic town of Blakeley has been reclaimed
by the wilderness and is now little more than a memory.
The site of Blakeley, on a low bluff overlooking the Mobile-
Tensaw Delta, had been the location of important settlements
for thousands of years. Native Americans settled here more
than 4,000 years ago to hunt, fish and gather food from the rich
delta. The early Native Americans gave way to French settlers,
who lived here after the founding of Mobile. Christian
Apalachee, a Native American group who relocated to Mobile
Bay following the destruction of their mission villages in Florida
by the British led Creeks, also lived at the site.
By 1814, an early settler named Josiah Blakeley was living at
the site and the town of Blakeley was chartered that same year.
Although some nearby settlements such as Fort Mims were
destroyed during the Creek War of 1813-1814, Blakeley was
spared this fate and quickly became a thriving town and
important river port. For a time, in fact, it rivaled nearby Mobile
and was the first county seat of Baldwin County.
The environmental setting that gave Blakeley its early
prosperity, however, also spelled its doom. The swamps of the
Mobile-Tensaw Delta were filled with mosquitoes and these, in
turn, spread deadly epidemics of yellow fever and malaria.
Massive epidemics swept the antebellum town, killing scores
of residents and driving others from the lowlands. The town's
old cemetery contains the mass graves of fever victims.
Residents of the time did not know the source of such fevers
and blamed them on the "bad air" of the vast wetlands. Once
the true cause was discovered, malaria and yellow fever were
virtually eradicated, but by then the town of Blakeley had long
been reclaimed by the forest.
Today visitors to Historic Blakeley State Park can still explore
the remains of the city that once played an important role in the
early history of Alabama. The historic cemetery still remains,
as do the ruins of the jail. Otherwise, all that is left is the outline
of the original streets and the massive oak trees that grow at
the site. One of these was, according to legend, the town's
"hanging tree." Hanging was the standard form of execution for
outlaws of all races during the early 1800s.
town" of Blakeley, Alabama. Once a prosperous river port and
community, the historic town of Blakeley has been reclaimed
by the wilderness and is now little more than a memory.
The site of Blakeley, on a low bluff overlooking the Mobile-
Tensaw Delta, had been the location of important settlements
for thousands of years. Native Americans settled here more
than 4,000 years ago to hunt, fish and gather food from the rich
delta. The early Native Americans gave way to French settlers,
who lived here after the founding of Mobile. Christian
Apalachee, a Native American group who relocated to Mobile
Bay following the destruction of their mission villages in Florida
by the British led Creeks, also lived at the site.
By 1814, an early settler named Josiah Blakeley was living at
the site and the town of Blakeley was chartered that same year.
Although some nearby settlements such as Fort Mims were
destroyed during the Creek War of 1813-1814, Blakeley was
spared this fate and quickly became a thriving town and
important river port. For a time, in fact, it rivaled nearby Mobile
and was the first county seat of Baldwin County.
The environmental setting that gave Blakeley its early
prosperity, however, also spelled its doom. The swamps of the
Mobile-Tensaw Delta were filled with mosquitoes and these, in
turn, spread deadly epidemics of yellow fever and malaria.
Massive epidemics swept the antebellum town, killing scores
of residents and driving others from the lowlands. The town's
old cemetery contains the mass graves of fever victims.
Residents of the time did not know the source of such fevers
and blamed them on the "bad air" of the vast wetlands. Once
the true cause was discovered, malaria and yellow fever were
virtually eradicated, but by then the town of Blakeley had long
been reclaimed by the forest.
Today visitors to Historic Blakeley State Park can still explore
the remains of the city that once played an important role in the
early history of Alabama. The historic cemetery still remains,
as do the ruins of the jail. Otherwise, all that is left is the outline
of the original streets and the massive oak trees that grow at
the site. One of these was, according to legend, the town's
"hanging tree." Hanging was the standard form of execution for
outlaws of all races during the early 1800s.
ExploreSouthernHistory.com
| The Mobile-Tensaw Delta The 19th century town of Blakeley owed its prosperity and eventually its demise to the waters of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. |
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| The Historic Blakeley Cemetery One of the few surviving remnants of the old town, the Blakeley Cemetery contains the mass graves of residents who died in fever epidemics. |
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