Blakeley, Alabama

Blakeley

The Boyaux fortification at the Blakeley battleground
Location Baldwin County, Alabama, along the Tensaw River north of Spanish Fort
Nearest city Spanish Fort
Coordinates 30°44′32″N 87°55′27″W / 30.74222°N 87.92417°W / 30.74222; -87.92417Coordinates: 30°44′32″N 87°55′27″W / 30.74222°N 87.92417°W / 30.74222; -87.92417
Built 1814
NRHP Reference # 74000397[1]
Added to NRHP June 25, 1974

Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States.[2] During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor, Mobile.[3][4] It was the location of a major fort during the Civil War. One of the last battles of the civil war was fought here as Union soldiers overran Confederates. The town is now in an Alabama historic state park known as Historic Blakeley State Park near Spanish Fort.

Before the town was established and populated by European settlers, Native Americans lived in the area. A burial mound was found near the site of the town and was excavated. Four skulls, various bones and copper ornaments were found.[5]

In 1813, Blakeley was founded by Josiah Blakeley, "an entrepreneur and adventurer from Connecticut who moved to Mobile in 1806.[4] He purchased 7,000 acres of land in the northeastern portion of Mobile Bay. In 1813 he hired a surveyor to lay out the town of Blakeley and sold the first 10 lots. On January 6, 1814, the Mississippi Territorial Legislature authorized Josiah Blakeley to lay out a town to be known as Blakeley.[6] It received official incorporation from the State of Alabama in 1820.[5][7]

Blakeley was the county seat for Baldwin County from 1810 until 1868 when county government was moved south to Daphne.

After the War of 1812, Jacob Bell and David Brown became successful shipbuilders in Blakeley. They left for New York City in 1820 to found Brown & Bell, a shipyard famous for its clipper ships and steamships.[8]

Blakeley had a "deep natural port, which was reachable by ships that could not cross the Dog River bar, a sandbar that sometimes impeded shipping access to Mobile."[4] For some years, Blakeley competed with Mobile to be the top port in what was then the Alabama Territory.[4]

A post office operated under the name Blakeley from 1826 to 1866.[9]

In 1974, the ghost town was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Blakeley, Alabama
  3. ↑ L.J. Newcomb Comings; Martha M. Albers (1928). A Brief History of Baldwin County.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hiatt, Grant D (2011-09-07). "Blakeley". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  5. 1 2 Lawrence Burnette, O (2006-10-01). Coastal Kingdom: A History of Baldwin County, Alabama. ISBN 9781413793383.
  6. ↑ A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January, 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 62. Chapter XX. Page 796. "An Act to authorize Josiah Blakeley to lay out a Town on the East side of Mobile Bay.—Passed January 6, 1814." (Google Books)
  7. ↑ A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January, 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 62. Chapter XXIII. Page 799-802. "An Act to provide a Government for the Town of Blakeley.—Passed December 4, 1820." (Google Books)
  8. ↑ Wright, Ella Frances (Reed) (1909). Reed-Read lineage. Captain John Reed of Providence, R. I., and Norwalk, Conn. and his descendants through his sons, John and Thomas, 1660-1909. Waterbury, CT: The Mattatuck Press. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  9. ↑ "Baldwin County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved 4 January 2015.

See also

External links

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