Check Out
My Island and
Surrounding Areas!

The secret is out about ALABAMA! We do have a beach...and it's sugar white with emerald waters. Whether you prefer charter fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or the back- waters of the numerous lakes and rivers, this area has something for everyone.

There are 16 golf courses within driving distance and we have one of the largest Outlet Malls in the South. Riviera Centre Factory Stores features one hundred and twenty top name stores like Ralph Lauren Polo, Guess, Liz Claiborne and more.

If history is your thing, do not miss Fort Morgan located at the end of Highway 180 West. Visit this site of historic naval action. August 5, 1864, Union Admiral David Farragut steamed through the narrow channel directly under the blazing guns of Fort Morgan and under the command of Admiral Franklin Buchanan. Though the Tennessee fought a gallant battle, she was overcome by sheer numbers and surrendered.

Historic Fort Morgan

Renowned for its richness of outdoor activities and warm climate, South Baldwin County is an oasis of flora and fauna. Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research was established as a protected education and research site. Weeks Bay, the nation's 16th national estuarine reserve, is Alabama's best remaining unspoiled estuary. The boundaries encompass over 6,000 acres of wetlands. The best times to observe migratory song-birds, or the courting of osprey, is in April and October.

The beaches

If the thought of succulent, fresh Gulf seafood has your mouth watering, then we can satisfy your appetite. All along the coast and inland as well, there are numerous restaurants ranging from the very upscale to the out of the way "locals" restaurants. Just ask me and I will tell you my favorites!

Magnolia Springs Bed and Breakfast
The South Baldwin area receives 85%
of Baldwin County tourism.

Almost 36% of all employment in Baldwin County is directly tourist related, compared with 4.1% for the state and 5.6% nationally.

We have an aggressive public school system in addition to many high caliber private and parochial institutions. In 1999, Baldwin County implemented, in its 6 high schools, IMAGE, a personalized, computer-based tutorial which allows students to learn at their own pace. At present, more than 50% of the teachers instructing in the area's 45 public elementary, intermediate, middle and high schools are certified at the post-graduate level.

Some of the smaller towns and communities that make up this diverse country are :

GULF SHORES - ORANGE BEACH - FORT MORGAN

Tourism is the leading industry along the Gulf Coast. Once, this area was strictly a boom town in the summer, but today tourism is a year round business. Gulf Shores has constructed a fire station on Fort Morgan Road and made many upgrades at the Jack Edwards airport and continues with the 117 acre Gulf Shores Industrial Park. The Orange Beach Water Authority has constructed a new water tank and has increased its water by six million gallons. A police/rescue boat now patrols inland and near-shore waters. More than $7 million has been spent to improve the Orange Beach sewer plant, and sewer improvements have been made up to and across the Intracoastal Waterway. A new toll bridge is underway to by pass traffic for an alternate route and hurricane evacuation. Our coastal area prides itself on its family atmosphere, good community planning and progressive economic development. We have a wealth of dining opportunities with everything from casual to fine dining.

BON SECOUR

BON SECOUR, a waterfront fishing village where boats from all over the Gulf land bring seafood and shellfish to its docks, is one of the oldest settlements on the Gulf Coast. The community was called Bon Secours for safe harbor or chapel of ease by the founding French sent by Louis XIV to settle the New World.

Bon Secour was used as a hunting and fishing lodge area by the governors of the old Louisiana Territory when the capital was Mobile, which celebrated its tricentennial last year. The settlement along the beautiful Bon Secour River has several fisheries, including Bon Secour Fisheries, which has been in operation since the late 1800s. One of Alabama's oldest family-owned businesses, it ships locally famous seafood to outlets all over the country.

FOLEY

THE old restored L&N Depot in the center of Foley, now housing the City of Foley Museum Archives, tells of the remarkable beginning of the town known as the "Forward City." Located at the main crossroads of Baldwin County, the biggest county in Alabama and one of the fastest growing areas of the state, at U.S. 98 and the highway leading to the Gulf Beaches, Foley has been the economic epicenter of the region since its establishment in the early 1900s. A planned community from its inception, the town of nearly 13,000 combines the best of city living with hometown appeal.

After hearing about the beautiful available land in the area, John B. Foley, a Chicago drug manufacturer noted for his pine tar and honey cough remedies, bought 50,000 acres and advertised them for sale through his Magnolia Land Company.

With the coming of the railroad line in 1904, the town grew into a marketing and agricultural produce shipping center. Utility providers, hotels, hospital, banks retail establishments, parks, airport and civic organizations soon followed.

Foley today has a large municipal complex, ten city parks, three industrial parks, museums and in recent years has seen an industrial and retail boom with one of the most popular outlet malls in the Southeast.

ELBERTA

THE cosmopolitan area reflects a gumbo of cultures. Elberta, a miniature town, offers what its citizens call "the good life." The town near the waterfront was founded in the early 1900s by German immigrants and laid out in neat squares. Graced by quaint homes, it has a downtown with large park areas and new schools. This garden spot of a small incorporated town was named for the famed Elberta peach. Its active volunteer fire department is making plans for celebrating its centennial next year.

Join us at the German Sausage Festival for Elberta's famous German sausage & sauerkraut, plus continuous entertainment for adults and children, and 200 arts & crafts booths. Other scrumptious foods will include German style filled cabbage, potato salad, goulash, red beans & rice, hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, ice cream, popcorn and peanuts. There will be baked goods as well as arts & crafts for sale at the festival. The Bellview Stumpfiddle Band will perform with the North End Stompers, and cloggers, carnival rides and polka, country and German music will also be provided for entertainment.

The sausage festival is a town fund-raiser, spearheaded by Elberta's Volunteer Fire Department in 1978, whose proceeds are used for improving not only the fire department, but the town as well. Additionally, local non-profit organizations also benefit from the festival through proceeds from their booth sales and parking lot fees. Due to its huge success, the festival is now held twice a year on the last Saturday of March and October.

Although the recipe has changed somewhat over the years, the original secret recipe for Elberta's famous sausage is credited to Alfred Stucki who managed Elberta's Locker Plant from 1953 until his death in 1973.

Please contact the Elberta Volunteer Fire Department at 251-986-5805 for booth rental information.

LILLIAN

THE waterfront community of Lillian on the Florida state line is a vacation and retirement community with homes and marinas lining secluded coves and Perdido and Wolf bays. A resort area since long before the Civic War, Lillian is an early settlement on the old border between the colonial powers of France and Spain, both of which wanted title to the inviting bayfront area on Perdido Bay, or, as translated from the Spanish, "Lost Bay." It was discovered by Spanish explorers in the early 1500s.

SUMMERDALE

SUMMERDALE is a thriving community that was once the tobacco capital of Alabama. Founded as a farming community, Summerdale features landmark buildings, antique shops and a museum. You can still walk downtown to the barbershop, the park gazebo or corner hardware store in this compact community also called "Sunshine City." The town is home to the large Baldwin County Electric Membership Cooperative, a member-owned cooperative supplying electric service to approximately 50,000 customers in the region.

FT. MORGAN

FORT MORGAN was constructed from 1819-1834 as part of the defenses of Mobile Bay. Fort Morgan, like Fort Pickens at Pensacola, was designed by the French military engineer Simon Bernard, who had been hired by the United States as a consultant and appointed to the board of engineers. The early Third System fortifications show the influence of the French school of design, whose most notable member was Vauban. However, the primary mission of defending a harbor, rather than their own location, led to characteristics which make them a uniquely American type of fortification.

Fort Morgan became well known during the Civil War, when Union Admiral D.G. Farragut lead a fleet to close the bay. During the attack, the U.S.S. Tecumseh struck a mine, and in the confusion, the fleet hesitated under the guns of Fort Morgan, prompting Farragut to order "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!". The fort continued as a coast artillery post until after World War II.

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS

MAGNOLIA SPRINGS was established at the turn of the century from a Spanish Land Grant of 1880. This charming riverfront village has the distinction of having the only mail delivery water route in the entire United States. The river is spring fed and guaranteed to make you catch your breath when you dive in!

WEEKS BAY RESERVE

Location: The Weeks Bay Reserve is located near Mobile Bay's eastern shore in Baldwin County, approximately 40 miles southeast of Mobile, Ala., and 50 miles west of Pensacola, Fla. The reserve property lies in and around Weeks Bay and the tributaries of the Fish and Magnolia rivers. The Interpretive Center and main offices are located on U.S. 98, approximately 12 miles southeast of Fairhope, and just west of the Fish River Bridge.

Total Acreage: The reserve includes 6,016 acres that encompasses the water bottoms of Weeks Bay, Fish River, Magnolia River and a small portion of Mobile Bay, and includes over 1,600 acres of swamp, marsh and upland areas
Designation: 1986
Lead State Agency: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Mailing Address:
Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
11300 U.S. Highway 98 Fairhope, AL 36532
Phone: 251-928-9792

Weeks Bay is a small estuary, about 3 sq. miles (8 sq. kilometers), receiving freshwater from the Magnolia and Fish rivers, and drains a 198 sq. mile watershed into the portion of Mobile Bay. This sub-estuary of Mobile Bay averages just 4.8 ft deep (1.5 meters) and is fringed with marsh (Spartina, Juncus) and swamp (pine, oak, magnolia, maple, cypress, bayberry, tupelo and others). The reserve lands also include upland and bottomland hardwood forests, freshwater marsh (Typha, Cladium), submerged aquatic vegetation (Ruppia, Valisneria) and unique bog habitats (Sarracenia, Drosera). Weeks Bay is a critical nursery for shrimp, bay anchovy, blue crab and multitudes of other fish, crustaceans and shellfish that support robust commercial fisheries providing $450 million/year for Alabama.

The Weeks Bay Reserve includes over 6,000 acres of coastal wetlands and waterbottoms that provide rich and diverse habitats for a variety of fish, crustaceans and shellfish, as well as many unique and rare plants. The Weeks Bay estuary, "where rivers meet the sea," is an important site of scientific research on estuarine ecology. The Weeks Bay Interpretive Center offers the public opportunities to learn about coastal habitats through its exhibits, live animals displays and collections of animals and regional plants. Self-guiding nature trails wind through wetlands, marshes, bogs and forests.

The Weeks Bay Interpretive Center is located 12 miles east of Fairhope on U.S. 98, and open Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. The center is closed state and federal holidays, and admission is free. Guided tours are available by advance request.

LINKS:

Local Weather

Tanger Outlets

Riviera Centre Factory Stores

Baldwin County Board of Education

Habitat For Humanity of Baldwin County

Alabama Gulf Coast Area
Chamber of Commerce