2009 Official Alabama Vacation Guide - (Page 110) Alabama Gulf Coast DISCOVER ALABAMA’S GULF COAST: WHERE RECREATION AND NATURE MEET HISTORY AND ARTS. I n 1699 the French began exploration of Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Dauphin Island and Mobile were discovered by those famous French brothers, Bienville and Iberville Le Moyne, the same guys who founded New Orleans. Having celebrated its 300th birthday (2002), Mobile is among the 14 oldest cities in the United States. More than a dozen museums interpret history in this city. When Interstate 10 was constructed in the 1970s, artifacts dating from the 1700s were discovered. Apparently the road builders had found the remains of an old French fort. City fathers decided to reconstruct Fort Conde and it now serves as the city’s visitor center where costumed guides demonstrate Colonial life of 1717. An hour’s drive north of Mobile is Alabama’s first territorial capital, Old St. Stephens, a boom town that flourished from 1811 to 1820 on the banks of the Tombigbee River. Archaeologists are excavating the site, which is now a historical park. Situated on the east bank of Tensaw Lake in Stockton is the Fort Mims Historic Site, which commemorates the battle that took place here on August 30, 1813. During the attack by the Redstick warriors, more than 300 attackers and defenders were killed, including most of the women and children at the fort. PHOTOS: ATD/JEFF GREENBERG. left ••• right RSA Battle House Tower in Mobile and surfing in the Gulf of Mexico. 110 w w w. a l a b a m a . t r a v e l http://www.alabama.travel
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