Malbis, Alabama

Malbis, Alabama
—  Community  —
Malbis, Alabama Location within the state of Alabama
Coordinates: 30°39′21″N 87°51′07″W / 30.65583°N 87.85194°W / 30.65583; -87.85194Coordinates: 30°39′21″N 87°51′07″W / 30.65583°N 87.85194°W / 30.65583; -87.85194
Country	United States
State	Alabama
County	Baldwin
Elevation	197 ft (60 m)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	36526
Area code(s)	251
GNIS feature ID	0156648

Malbis is an unincorporated settlement in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. The community lies at the crossroads of U.S. 90 and Alabama State Route 181 just south of I-10. Portions of the settlement are today within the city limits of Daphne. The incorporated city of Loxley lies to the east, and Spanish Fort to the north.

Malbis is considered a community or populated place but is not identified in the United States Census. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The Malbis Plantation was inducted into the National Register of Historic Places in May 2011.

History

Malbis Memorial Church, built in honor of Jason Malbis

Known originally as the Malbis Plantation, the settlement was begun in 1906 by founder Jason Malbis. Malbis was a Greek philanthropist who was born in Doumena, Greece as Antonius Markopoulos. Malbis had been an Orthodox monk^[1] before coming to the United States to investigate the condition of fellow Greeks who had immigrated to the US.^[2] He changed his name to Jason Malbis and came south.

While traveling through Alabama, Malbis became enamored with Baldwin County and purchased the land that would become the Greek colony.^[3] The community was populated for many years mostly by those either secular or religious Greek heritage.^[4] The Malbis Memorial Church, a Greek Orthodox church was built by the settlers and still stands today.

The community once included a bakery, an ice plant, a plant nursery and many acres of farmland. During the peak of the colony's success its economy was largely based upon providing table food to nearby Mobile, Alabama.^[3] Today much of the land has been sold for commercial development including a 500-acre (2.0 km²) soybean field which is today covered by a large retail shopping mall.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ Roy Hoffman (March 13, 2010). "The Jewel of Malbis". Mobile Register (Mobile, Alabama): p. 1D. 
2. ^ Scott, Florence; Scott, Richard (1965). Daphne. Mobile, Alabama: Jordan Publishing Company. p. 175 
3. ^ ^{a b} Burnett, Jr., O. Lawrence (2006). Coastal Kingdom. Baltimore: PUBLISHAMERICA,LLLP. p. 285 
4. ^ Henderson, Russ (2008-09-11). "Malbis plantation 'matriarch' Bessie Papas dies at 98". Press Register (Mobile, Alabama). Press Register. http://blog.al.com/live/2008/09/malbis_plantation_matriarch_be.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
5. ^ Henderson, Russ (2008-09-12). "The last of Malbis' original settlers dies". Press Register (Mobile, Alabama). Press Register. http://www.al.com/press-register/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/122121095253570.xml&coll=3. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
6. ^ Henderson, Russ (May 31, 2008). "Malbis family mourns". Press Register (Mobile, Alabama).