Blakeley is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

in Baldwin County,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor,

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

. Blakeley was the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

for Baldwin County from 1820 until 1868, when the county government was moved south to

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

. It was the location of a major fort during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. One of the last battles of the Civil War was fought here in April 1865, as Union soldiers overran Confederates. The town is now in an Alabama historic state park known as

Historic Blakeley State Park Historic Blakeley State Park is a park located on the site of the former town of Blakeley in Baldwin County, Alabama on the Tensaw River delta. The park encompasses an area once occupied by settlers in what was a thriving community on the river ...

, north of Spanish Fort. Before the town was established and populated by European settlers, Native Americans had 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. In 1813, Blakeley was founded by Josiah Blakeley, "an entrepreneur and adventurer from Connecticut" who moved to Mobile in 1806. He purchased 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.''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." (Internet Archive)
/ref> It received official incorporation from the State of Alabama in 1820.''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". pp. 799-802
"An Act to provide a Government for the Town of Blakeley.—Passed December 4, 1820." (Internet Archive)
/ref> After the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, Jacob Bell and David Brown became successful shipbuilders in Blakeley. They left for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1820 to found Brown & Bell, a shipyard famous for its

clipper ships A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century Merchant ship, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had ...

and steamships. Blakeley had a "deep natural port, which was reachable by ships that could not cross the

Dog River Dog River may refer to: Canada *Dog River (Ontario), a river in Thunder Bay District, Ontario * Dog River (Manitoba), a river in Northern Region, Manitoba * Dog River, Saskatchewan, a fictional setting for the television series ''Corner Gas'' Uni ...

bar, a sandbar that sometimes impeded shipping access to

." For some years, Blakeley competed with Mobile to be the top port in what was then the

Alabama Territory The Territory of Alabama (sometimes Alabama Territory) was an organized incorporated territory of the United States. The Alabama Territory was carved from the Mississippi Territory on August 15, 1817 and lasted until December 14, 1819, when it w ...

. A post office operated under the name "Blakeley" from 1826 to 1866. In 1974, the ghost town was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Notable people

Lavinia Stoddard Lavinia Stoddard (, Stone; June 29, 1787 – November 8, 1820) was an American poet and school founder. Her poem, "The Soul's Defiance", was included in most of the anthologies published in the United States in the 19th-century. Early life and e ...

(1787–1820), poet, school founder

References

Sources: * Hamilton, Peter. ''Colonial Mobile''. 1910. Reprint, Tuscaloosa, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1976. * Harris, W. Stuart. ''Dead Towns of Alabama''. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1977. * Nuzum, Kay. ''A History of Baldwin County''. Fairhope, Ala.: Page & Palette, 1971.

External links

* *''AmericanCivilWar.com''.
Blakeley State Park
. Accessed April 20, 2007. *Historic Blakeley State Park.
The Town of Blakeley
. Accessed April 20, 2007.
Alabama's First Ferry Located at Blakeley, Alabama Blakeley's Fall Laid To Greed SpeculatorsGatra Wehle Nature Center
*, "an unpublished novella written by Marshall Wallace about the Stoddard family, early residents of Blakeley" {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Baldwin County, Alabama Populated places established in 1814 Ghost towns in Alabama Protected areas of Baldwin County, Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Alabama 1814 establishments in the United States Former county seats in Alabama Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America

Notable people

References

See also

External links