Mobile County ( ) is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

. It is the second most-populous county in the state after Jefferson County. As of the 2020 census, its population was 414,809. Its

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 ...

is Mobile, which was founded as a deepwater port on the Mobile River. The only such port in Alabama, it has long been integral to the economy for providing access to inland waterways as well as the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. The city, river, and county were named in honor of '' Maubila'', a village of the

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arc ...

Tuskaloosa of the regional

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, eart ...

. In 1540 he arranged an ambush of soldiers of

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

's expedition in an effort to expel them from the territory. The Spaniards were armed with guns and killed many of the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

. Mobile County and Washington County, Alabama make up the Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area with a 2020 population of 430,197. The Mobile, AL MSA and Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL MSA make up the much larger Mobile-Daphne-Fairhope CSA with a 2020 population of 661,964. The northern border of Mobile County and southern area of neighboring Washington County constitute the homeland of the state-recognized tribe of

MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians is a state-recognized tribe, located in southwest Alabama, with a population largely based in southern Washington County and some membership in northern Mobile County. The term ''MOWA'' is a portmanteau of Mobil ...

, descendants of Choctaw and Creek who stayed in this area during the period of

Indian Removal Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a ...

. They have organized to preserve their culture and language. They were the first of nine tribes to be recognized by the state.

History

This area was occupied for thousands of years by varying cultures of

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s. At the time of Spanish expeditions in the early 16th century, it was part of the territory of the

, which constructed major earthwork mounds. It was ruled by the paramount chief Tuskaloosa. The historic

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

emerged somewhat later, and are believed to be descendants of those earlier peoples. They occupied this area along what early

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

traders and colonists called the Mobile River. They also founded the settlement of Mobile on the river and bay in the early eighteenth century. The British took over the territory in 1763 (along with other French territories east of the Mississippi River) after defeating the French in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, it came under Spanish rule as part of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

. Spain ceded the territory to the United States 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 be ...

. In the 1830s, the United States forced the removal of most of the Native American tribes in the area under President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

's policy and an

act of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

to relocate them to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

west of the Mississippi River. Many of those who remained continued their culture, and took refuge in the swamps in the border area between Mobile and Washington counties. Since the late 20th century, several tribes have reorganized and gained state recognition. Among those is the

, which was recognized as a tribe in 1979 by the state. The people have long been based in this area of the former Choctaw homeland, along the northern border of Mobile County and the southern border of Washington County. After more than a century of European settlement, beginning with French colonists, Mobile County was organized by the state legislature and the proclamation of Governor Holmes of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

on December 18, 1812. When Mississippi was separated and admitted as a state on December 10, 1817, after adopting its constitution on August 15, 1817, Mobile County became part of what was called 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 wa ...

. Two years later, the county became part of the state of Alabama, granted

statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "st ...

on December 14, 1819. The city of Mobile, first settled by French colonists in the early 18th century as part of '' La Louisiane,'' was designated as the county seat from the early days of the county. Both the county and city derive their name from Fort Louis de la Mobile, a French fortification established (near present-day Axis, Alabama) in 1702. The word "Mobile" is believed to stem from a

word for "paddlers". The area was occupied by French colonists from 1702 to 1763, and their influence has been strong in the city. It was ruled by the British from 1763 to 1780, when more American colonists began to enter the territory; and controlled by the Spanish from 1780 to 1813. At the end of the War of 1812, the United States took over the territory. At that time, new settlers were being attracted to the land, eager to develop short-staple cotton in the uplands area. Invention of the

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

made processing of this type of cotton profitable, stimulating wholesale development of new cotton plantations in the Black Belt during the antebellum years. Mobile developed as a major deepwater port; in the nineteenth century, cotton was its major export. There were nine documented lynchings in Mobile from 1891 to 1981. * March 31, 1891 — Zachariah Graham * October 2, 1906 — Roy Hoyle * October 2, 1906 — Willie Thompson * October 2, 1906 — Corneilius Robinson * September 22, 1907 — Mose Dossett * January 23, 1909 — Richard Robertson * July 31, 1910 — Bill Walker * June 6, 1919 — James E. Lewis * March 21, 1981 — Michael Donald Courthouse fires occurred in the years 1823, 1840, and 1872.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (25.2%) is water. It is the fourth-largest county in Alabama by land area and second-largest by total area. It includes several islands, including

Dauphin Island Dauphin Island is an island town in Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico. It incorporated in 1988. The population was 1,778 at the 2020 census, up from 1,238 at the 2010 census. The ...

Gaillard Island Gaillard Island is an artificially created island located in Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama. It was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, using sand and mud dredged from the Mobile Bay ship channel and elsewhere. The island is ...

and Mon Louis Island.

Major highways

Interstate 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 p ...

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gul ...

Interstate 165 * I-110

planned western bypass * US 43

U.S. Highway 43 * US 45

U.S. Highway 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

U.S. Highway 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 ...

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...

State Route 158 * Alabama 163

State Route 163 * Alabama 188

State Route 188 * Alabama 193

State Route 193 * Alabama 213

State Route 213 * Alabama 217

State Route 217

Adjacent counties

* Washington County (north) * Baldwin County (east) *

Jackson County, Mississippi Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 139,668, making it the fifth-most populous county in Mississippi. Its county seat is Pascagoula. The county was named for Andrew J ...

(southwest) *

George County, Mississippi George County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,578. Its county seat is Lucedale. The county is named for James Z. George, US Senator from Mississippi. George County is includ ...

(west) * Greene County, Mississippi (northwest)

National protected areas

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in five separate units in Baldwin and Mobile Counties, United States, directly west of Gulf Shores, Alabama on the Fort Morgan Peninsula. The refuge serves as a resting ...

(part) * Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 414,809 people, 155,946 households, and 97,398 families residing in the county.

2010

According to the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the population of the county comprised the following racial and ethnic groups: *60.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

*34.6%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

*0.9% Native American *1.8% Asian *0.0%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

*1.5%

Two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

*2.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

According to the

2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

, there were 399,843 people, 150,179 households, and 106,777 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 324 people per square mile (125/km²). There were 165,101 housing units at an average density of 134 per square mile (52/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 63.07%

, 33.38%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.67% Native American, 1.41% Asian, 0.03%

, 0.40% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 1.22% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 150,179 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 17.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13. In the county, the population dispersal was 27.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,710, and the median income for a family was $40,378. Males had a median income of $32,329 versus $21,986 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,178. About 15.60% of families and 18.50% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.20% of those under age 18 and 14.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local

Mobile County has a limited form of

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

and is governed by a three-member county commission. Each commissioner represents a

single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

and is elected by the voters of that district to serve a four-year term. Each commissioner has an equal vote on the commission. During an elected term, each commissioner serves as President of the Mobile County Commission for 16 months, beginning with the District 1 Commissioner. As of November 2020 Mobile County Commissioners are: *District 1 (northern County) – Merceria L. Ludgood (D) *District 2 (western and central County) – Connie Hudson (R) *District 3 (southern County) – Randall Dueitt (R)

State

Under the state constitution, the legislature maintains considerable power over county affairs. Mobile County is represented in the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers se ...

by three senators and nine representatives. It is represented in the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

by Democrat

Vivian Davis Figures Vivian Davis Figures (born January 24, 1957) is an American politician who is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 33rd District in Mobile County since she was elected on January 28, 1997 to serve the remaining term of h ...

from the 33rd district, by Republican Jack Williams from the 34th district, and by Republican David Sessions from the 35th district. It is represented in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency contai ...

by Democrat Adline Clarke from the 97th district, Democrat Napoleon Bracy from the 98th district, Democrat Sam Jones from the 99th district, Republican Victor Gaston from the 100th district, Republican Chris Pringle from the 101st district, Republican Shane Stringer from the 102nd district, Democrat Barbara Drummond from the 103rd district, Republican Margie Wilcox from the 104th district, and Republican Chip Brown from the 105th district.

Education

In most areas of Mobile County, schools are operated by the

Mobile County Public School System Mobile County Public School System (MCPSS) is a school district based in unincorporated Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The system currently serves areas of Mobile County, including the city of Mobile, with the exception of the cities ...

. The cities of

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

, Saraland, and Satsuma have separate school systems. Each is served by Chickasaw City Schools, Saraland Board of Education, and Satsuma City School System.
Text list
/ref> Mobile County is the home of the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

(USA), a public research university divided into ten colleges, including one of Alabama's two state-supported medical schools. USA has an enrollment of over 16,000 students and employs more than 6,000 faculty, administrators, and support staff. It is also home to two private institutions of higher learning. Spring Hill College, founded in 1830, is Catholic and the third-oldest Jesuit college or university in the U.S. Its enrollment is about 1,500 students and it offers 46 academic majors. University of Mobile, established in 1961 and affiliated with Alabama Baptist Convention, has an enrollment of about 2,000 and offers 90 academic majors.

Politics

During the late 20th century, white conservatives left the Democratic Party for the Republican Party. In that same period, as African Americans regained their ability to exercise the franchise after passage of the 1965

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights m ...

, they tended to support the national Democratic Party. Today the population of Mobile County is majority white; at the time of the Civil War, it was majority black. In 2004, the incumbent Republican president George W. Bush won 59 percent of the vote and 92,014 votes. Democrat

John F. Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he p ...

won 40 percent of the vote and 63,732 votes. Other candidates won one percent of the vote. In the 2008 presidential election, Mobile County cast the majority of its votes for the Republican candidate

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

. He won 54% of the vote and 98,049 votes. Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

received 45% of the vote and 82,181 votes. Other candidates won 1% of the vote. In the Senate off-year election in 2008, Republican Jeff Sessions did better than John McCain. Sessions won 57 percent of the vote and 102,043 votes. His challenger, Democrat Vivian Figures, won 43 percent of the vote and 77,292 votes. Due to Mobile being an urban city, the margins between the Republican and Democrat candidates are usually between 10-19 points. Since 1996, the Democrats have gotten 40-45% of the vote.

Communities

Cities

Bayou La Batre Bayou La Batre ( or ) is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Mobile metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,204, down from 2,558 at the 2010 census. Bayou La Batre is a fishing village wi ...

* Citronelle * Creola * Mobile (county seat) * Prichard * Saraland * Satsuma * Semmes

Towns

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

Census-designated places

* Axis * Belle Fontaine * Bucks * Calvert (partly in Washington County) * Chunchula * Grand Bay * Gulfcrest * Movico *

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

* Tillmans Corner

Unincorporated communities

* Alabama Port * Cloverdale * Coden * Crawford * Eight Mile * Fernland * Heron Bay * Irvington * Kushla * Le Moyne * Lloyds * Mauvilla * Mon Louis *

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

* St. Elmo * Tanner Williams * Toulminville *

Union Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

* Whistler * Wilmer

Ghost town

* Beaver Mills

References

External links

Mobile County, Alabama
official website
Map of roads/towns in Mobile County
from

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publ ...

South Alabama Community Website
{{authority control Alabama placenames of Native American origin 1812 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1812 Mobile metropolitan area

History

Geography

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

2020

2010

2000

Government

Local

State

Education

Politics

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

See also

References

External links