Daphne, the Jubilee City, is home to people who came to partake of the rich resources of Mobile Bay's eastern shore. They gathered to collect seafood miraculously washing ashore during the phenomenon of jubilee. They gathered under the spreading oaks to hold councils and along the bay front to escape the perils of yellow fever across the bay in Mobile. They gathered for clean spring waters and rare pottery clay, to greet the bay boats, and to farm the rich soil. Daphne's heritage is one of a gathering of peoples, and Images of America: Daphne documents that heritage.
Advertisements placed in newspapers throughout the Midwest in the early 1900s read, Notice to Homeseekers: Good farm land at a reasonable price, directing people toward picturesque Foley, Alabama. A new town with an ideal climate and boundless resources, it was the final stop on the railroad spur to south Baldwin County that was completed in 1905. First built on an agriculture and timber economy, the town was soon home to businesses that sprang up during the population explosion. Nearby Elberta, a German colony, and the river towns of Magnolia Springs and Bon Secour also experienced accelerated growth as the area was developed. The heritage of the greatest resource--the people of Foley--is best told in the photographs long treasured by families of the earliest settlers and collected by the authors to be shared and preserved for posterity.
Although 2009 marked the bicentennial of Baldwin County, the history began long before and included Native Americans, European colonists, pioneers, Chief Red Eagle, Andrew Jackson, William Bartram, and soldiers of the North and South. However, what makes Baldwin County's character today is the story of the growth in the early 1900s. As the railroad began to replace the Federal Road and Mobile Bay boats, land developers voiced the call, and Baldwin County boomed as a destination for colonists. Immigrants from all over the world came for land and for work in lumber and agriculture, building towns to fulfill their dreams. And somehow they succeeded in maintaining their cultural heritage in more than 20 distinct ethnic communities, most still thriving today. This is their story, their legacy, and the heritage of a county--the people.
Baldwin County is no stranger to the supernatural. As the largest county in the state of Alabama, Baldwin has hidden stories to be uncovered. Residents can still hear the horse of a soldier buried in the Confederate Rest Cemetery. Lonesome melodies from a piano haunt the Grand Hotel Ballroom. Many residents have stolen a glimpse of Catman at Gulf State Park and a mysterious lady descending the stairs of a historic tidewater home. Author Harriet Outlaw tells the stories behind the spirits that represent the most colorful characters of Baldwin County history.
Advertisements placed in newspapers throughout the Midwest in the early 1900s read, Notice to Homeseekers: Good farm land at a reasonable price, directing people toward picturesque Foley, Alabama. A new town with an ideal climate and boundless resources, it was the final stop on the railroad spur to south Baldwin County that was completed in 1905. First built on an agriculture and timber economy, the town was soon home to businesses that sprang up during the population explosion. Nearby Elberta, a German colony, and the river towns of Magnolia Springs and Bon Secour also experienced accelerated growth as the area was developed. The heritage of the greatest resource--the people of Foley--is best told in the photographs long treasured by families of the earliest settlers and collected by the authors to be shared and preserved for posterity.
Daphne, the Jubilee City, is home to people who came to partake of the rich resources of Mobile Bay's eastern shore. They gathered to collect seafood miraculously washing ashore during the phenomenon of jubilee. They gathered under the spreading oaks to hold councils and along the bay front to escape the perils of yellow fever across the bay in Mobile. They gathered for clean spring waters and rare pottery clay, to greet the bay boats, and to farm the rich soil. Daphne's heritage is one of a gathering of peoples, and Images of America: Daphne documents that heritage.
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