Blakeley, Alabama

Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. It was the location of a major fort during the Civil War.

History

Blakeley became the county seat of Baldwin County, Alabama in 1810. It continued in this position until 1868.

Blakeley was chartered in 1814 by the Mississippi Territory; re-chartered in 1818 by the Alabama Territory; and then, after Alabama entered the United States it was chartered by the state. Blakeley reached its peak of popularity in the 1820’s when its population hovered around 4,000, larger than nearby Mobile just across the bay. There were hotels, stores, churches, blacksmith shops, majestic homes, and the first Courthouse of present day Baldwin County settled beautifully down by the Tensaw River just north of Mobile Bay. Settled by Josiah Blakeley and others from New England in 1814, the streets and lots were laid out in such fashion with avenues named after Presidents and streets named fruit trees. [http://new.siteone.com/sites/blakeleypark.com/history.asp]

A key factor in the decline of Blakeley was yellow fever epidemics that caused people to move out in the late 1820s and early 1830s. 1830 is often considered to be the year the decline began.

Civil War days

With less than one hundred inhabitants Blakeley slowly began to die out. She was temporarily resurrected again during the Civil War years and was transformed into Fort Blakely (spelled this way during the Civil War years) housing an army camp of upwards to 4,000 soldiers. Her last day of the war saw a contingent of 20,000 men fighting the last major battle of the Civil War. Union troops had moved north along the east shore of Mobile Bay and encircled Spanish Fort. Once Spanish Fort fell, Union troops could focus on Fort Blakely. 16,000 Union troops overwhelmed the 4,000 Confederates and on April 9, 1865, Fort Blakley fell. According to some reliable sources, the battle at Blakley actually occurred six hours after Robert E. Lee had surrendered to Ulysses Grant. [http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/al/al006.html] After 1865 Fort Blakley was no more. The land stood idle for better than 100 years until Historic Blakeley State Park was created in 1981. The town did outlast the Civil War, but it was also in decline.

Today

Today, the land has largely been reclaimed by nature. The earthen redoubts remain visible even today. Four hundred year old oak trees grace the boulevards that once existed. There is nothing there to indicate that Blakeley was once a major player on the Alabama scene. It is considered by many to be “the South’s loveliest ghost town.”

In 1995 Blakeley was added to the Civil War Discovery Trail that links more than 300 sites in 16 states to inspire and to teach the story of the Civil War and its haunting impact on America.

References

*American Civil War [http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/al/al006.html Blakeley State Park] Accessed April 20, 2007.
*Historic Blakeley State Park [http://new.siteone.com/sites/blakeleypark.com/history.asp The Town of Blakeley] Accessed April 20, 2007