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Historical Records
Today’s coastal Alabama is a sandy, southern enclave of beautiful beaches, welcoming accommodations, and family-friendly attractions. But behind the activities and amenities of modern life is a thrilling history that lives on in area museums and heritage sites.
You might already know that Alabama was part of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War and remnants of that conflict dot the coastline. But if you thought the area’s military history went back no further, you’d be off by about 300 years.
Bellingrath Gardens and Home
Come experience Bellingrath Gardens and Home, the naturally breathtaking historic manor home and pleasure gardens located in southern Mobile County...
City of Foley Depot Museum and Model Train Exhibit
This museum is located in the Louisville and Nashville railroad depot that was built in Foley in 1909. In the...
University of South Alabama Archaeology Museum
The museum showcases artifacts from the Gulf Coast and covers over 12,000 years of prehistory and history. Artifacts are contextualized...
Daphne History Museum
The Daphne History Museum, formerly Daphne United Methodist Church, is the second oldest church building in Baldwin County and is...
Fairhope Museum of History
We are located in the heart of downtown in Fairhope’s 1928 Spanish Mission-style city hall building. The museum includes the...
Gulf Shores Museum
This local history museum tells the stories of our coastal town, its people, their lives and their livelihood. You can...
Mobile Medical Museum
Located in one of Mobile’s oldest homes, the Mobile Medical Museum offers exhibitions and tours that provide visitors of all...
Baldwin County Heritage Museum
We represent the grassroots of our society by providing a place for visitors to experience the heritage and share the...
The Holmes Medical Museum
At The Holmes Medical Museum, learn how far science and the medical field have progressed by exploring the first hospital...
Fort Morgan
Fort Morgan is a Third System masonry fort built between 1819 and 1833. The fort was named after Revolutionary War...
Swift-Coles Historic Home
Swift-Coles Historic Home is a beautiful historic site opened to the public for historic tours as well as a premiere...
Baldwin County Bicentennial Park
The Baldwin County Bicentennial Park is a 367-acre area in North Baldwin County that offers a unique family experience of...
The Museum of Loxley
The Museum of Loxley is the city’s newest way to preserve unique local heritage. In 2021, the town council appointed...
Pensacola Lighthouse & Maritime Museum
Climb the 177 steps to the historic Pensacola Lighthouse & Maritime Museum for one of the most beautiful views of...
Alabama's Instagrammable Moments
The Rest is History
Spanish explorers landed just east of Orange Beach in 1559. That first colony was wiped out by a hurricane, but the Spanish tried again and in 1698 established Presidio Santa Maria de Galve, the first permanent settlement in this part of the Gulf coast. That same stretch of land would become a naval air station, now home to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Nearby are Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas, the latter used in both the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.
Discover it for yourself as a visitor at five of our top historic sites of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach:
- The Baldwin County Heritage Museum records the history of those who settled the county around the turn of the last century. The story is told through the tools, machinery and objects they used.
- From the time of the earliest Native American residents to the town’s founding in 1894, the Fairhope Museum of History covers the Civil War years, the history of pottery, local people who fought in World War II and the Bay Boat years on Mobile Bay.
- Occupying the strategic point where Mobile Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Morgan played a critical role in the Battle of Mobile Bay in August 1864 and was also used during the Spanish-American War, WWI and WWII. Tours of the masonry fort, completed in 1833, bring the past to vivid life in the present time.
- The Orange Beach Indian & Sea Museum started life in 1910 as a schoolhouse but now showcases the region’s Native American and fishing heritage. On display are local artifacts and memorabilia donated by families of early fishermen.
- Recipient of nine WWII Battle Stars, the Battleship USS Alabama is a legend among legends and saw action at Leyte, the Gilbert Islands and Okinawa. It is now the centerpiece of the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park which also includes an Aircraft Pavilion and the USS Drum, the oldest American submarine on public display.
Mobile Bay Civil War Trail
Set at the end of Highway 180 in Gulf Shores, Fort Morgan Museum is the southernmost stop along the Mobile Bay Civil War Trail, which stretches more than 90 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile County. There are more than a dozen Civil War sites on this trail, including Fort Gaines, where Admiral Farragut shouted, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” Also included is Magee Farm, known as “The Last Appomattox,” where Confederate General Richard Taylor surrendered 47,000 troops to the Union.
Gulf Shores Museum
Enjoy a technology-driven interactive display of "Hurricane Hunters", where you can fly through the hurricane's eye. The Gulf Shores Museum offers permanent and special exhibits as well as seasonal festivals. This is a great place to start when getting a feel for the local Gulf Coast history.
Ready to get acquainted with Alabama’s beaches and history? Request a vacation guide and build your plans to tour our local history! Be sure to book your Gulf Shores hotel or Orange Beach condo rental today!