Malbis is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

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 community lies at the crossroads of

U.S. 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. With the exception of a short-lived ...

and

Alabama State Route 181 State Route 181 (SR 181) is a route in Baldwin County in the southwestern part of the state. The southern terminus of the route is at its junction with US 98 near Magnolia Springs. The northern terminus of the route is at its junction with U ...

just south of

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

. Portions of the settlement are today within the city limits of both

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 ...

and Spanish Fort. The city of Loxley lies to the east. Malbis is considered a community or populated place but is not identified in the United States Census. It is part of the Daphne–

Fairhope Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2020 Census lists the population of the city as 22,477. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolita ...

– Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area. The Malbis Plantation was inducted into 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 ...

in May 2011.

History

Known originally as the Malbis Plantation, the settlement was founded in 1906 by Jason Malbis. Malbis was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

born in Doumena, Greece as Antonius Markopoulos. Malbis had been an Orthodox

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

before coming to the United States to investigate the condition of fellow Greeks who had immigrated to the US. He changed his name to Jason Malbis and migrated south to Alabama. While traveling through Alabama, Malbis became enamored with Baldwin County and purchased the land that would become the Greek colony. The community was populated for many years mostly by those of either secular or religious Greek heritage. The

Malbis Memorial Church Malbis Memorial Church, formally the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of the Presentation of Theotokos, is a Greek Orthodox Church located in Malbis, Baldwin County, Alabama. One of roughly six Greek Orthodox churches in the state of ...

, a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

church, was built by the settlers and still stands today. The community once included the Malbis Bakery, an ice plant, plant nursery, cannery, hotels, restaurants, its own power plant, turpentine, dairy, lumber, water towers and many acres of farmland. During the peak of the colony's success, the economy was largely based upon providing table food to nearby

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. Much of the land was sold for commercial development, including a soybean field, which is currently covered by a large retail shopping mall known as

Eastern Shore Centre Eastern Shore Centre is a lifestyle center located at the intersection of Malbis Parkway (Alabama State Route 181) and Interstate 10 in Spanish Fort, Alabama, United States, a suburb of Mobile. A landscaped perimeter road, Eastern Shore Boulevar ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Baldwin County, Alabama Unincorporated communities in Alabama Populated places established in 1906 National Register of Historic Places in Baldwin County, Alabama Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama 1906 establishments in Alabama