BALDWIN COUNTY ALABAMA

Baldwin County Alabama

This is the online edition of the Explore Alabama: Baldwin County Alabama published by Terry Platt of Semmes, Alabama. It covers the Baldwin county area of the state of Alabama especially Gulf Shores, Daphne and Spanish Fort.

Baldwin county is the largest county in Alabama by area and is located on the eastern side of Mobile Bay. For purposes of this guide, we furnish information on each area individually and group attractions and activities. Our map is the best place to start your tour.

The county had been a part of the Mississippi Territory until 1817, when the area was included in the separate Alabama Territory. Statehood was gained by Alabama in 1819. There have been numerous border changes to the county as population grew and other counties were formed. Numerous armies have invaded during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War.

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Baldwin County Alabama History

Excert from History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography
By Thomas McAdory Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Owen
Published by The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1921

Settlement and Later History.—The history of Baldwin County is inseparably associated with two great Indian tribes, the Alibamos and Creeks, with three great European nations, France, Spain and England, and at different times and under peculiar circumstances, with the Americans, as friends or enemies. The first American settlements in the county were made on Lake Tensaw and on Tensaw River, mostly by Tory families which migrated from Georgia and South Carolina during the American Revolution, although some came after that struggle, leaving their homes in consequence of Whig intolerance. Intermingled with these Tensaw settlers, however, were Whig families. Some of the family names of the settlers have been preserved— Byrne, Easley, Hall, Kilcrease, Linder, Mima, Pierce, Sibley, Steadham, Stockton and Holmes. Of these, Captain John Linder was the most prominent. He was a native of Switzerland, and was in the British service for several years as engineer and surveyor. During the Revolution, Gen. Alexander Mc- Gillivray assisted him in removing his family and numerous negro slaves, and in settling them on Lake Tensaw. The settlers were later reinforced by the arrival into their midst of several Indian countrymen, with their Indian wives and halfbreed children. Benjamin Durant was a type of these newcomers. He was a Carolinian who had married Sophia, a sister of Gen. McGillivray.

The first saw mills in the county were owned by Byrne and by Joshua Kennedy. They were in existence in 1813, but no doubt had been erected several years previously. The first cotton gin was established in 1803 by John and William Pierce at the Boat Yard on Lake Tensaw. Another cotton gin was built at McIntosh’s Bluff on the Tombigbee, but the year of its erection is not known. (page 86)

Origin of Baldwin County Alabama

Baldwin County, Alabama, is one of the largest counties East of the Mississippi River and ten years older than the State of Alabama which was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

Baldwin county was located within the Mississippi territory which came about on April 7, 1798. The western half of the Mississippi territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi on December 10, 1817 and the eastern half became the Alabama Territory until its admittance to the Union as the State of Alabama on December 14, 1819. First organized as a county in 1809, Baldwin County, therefore is also older than the state of Mississippi.

Baldwin County takes her name from a native of Guilford, Connecticut who had never been to the county. Abraham Baldwin graduated from Yale University after studying both theology and law at the age of 17 years. In 1784, after serving as an educator and chaplain in the American Revolution, Abraham Baldwin moved to the State of Georgia to take up the practice of law, where later that same year, he was elected to the Georgia State Legislature.

Considered one of Georgia’s earliest progressive leaders, Abraham Baldwin is credited with assisting in the authorship of the Georgia State Charter and with the concept of a complete state educational system which directly led to the founding of the University of Georgia – the first of the state universities. Abraham Baldwin served as the University of Georgia’s first president.

During the Twenty years Abraham Baldwin Spent in Georgia before his death, he had signed the United States Constitution at the Constitutional Convention which formed the United States of America and served in the United States House of Representatives & United States Senate during the Presidential Administrations of George Washington, John Adams & Thomas Jefferson.

When Alabama was still considered the Alabama Territory, before Statehood on December 14, 1819, many of the county’s settlers, who migrated from the State of Georgia, suggested the county be named after Abraham Baldwin to honor his life and accomplishments.

Baldwin County Alabama Population

Census Bureau populawtion estimates, July 1, 2019: 223, 234

County Seat of Baldwin County

Baldwin County Alabama has a population of 182,000. The county seat of Baldwin County is Bay Minette Alabama.

Establishment of Bay Minette as the county seat has an interesting story. A deception carried out in the dead of night is responsible for making the City of Bay Minette the County Seat of Baldwin County, Alabama.

In the first days of Baldwin County, the Town of McIntosh Bluff;, now in Mobile County, Alabama, West of Baldwin County, on the Tombigbee River was the County Seat of Baldwin County. After being transferred to the Town of Blakeley in 1810, the County Seat was later moved to the City of Daphne in 1868. In 1900, by an Act of the Legislature of Alabama, the County Seat was authorized for relocation to the City of Bay Minette, however, the City of Daphne resisted relocation.

In order to relocate the County Seat to the City of Bay Minette, the men of Bay Minette devised a scheme. To lure the Sheriff and his Deputy out of the City of Daphne, the men made up a murder story. While the law was chasing down the fictitious killer during the late hours, the group of Bay Minette men traveled the thirty miles to the City of Daphne, stole the Baldwin County Courthouse records, and delivered them to the City of Bay Minette. The county seat remains in Bay Minette to this day.

Baldwin County Historical Destinations

Fort Mims State Historic Site

Tensaw

Fort Morgan State Historic Site

Gulf Shores

Removal of the County Seat Mural

Bay Minette

Swift-Coles Historic Home

Bon Secour

Baldwin County Heritage Museum

Elberta

Fairhope Museum of History

Fairhope

Foley Railroad Museum

Foley

Historic Blakeley State Park

Spanish Fort

Baldwin County Alabama Cities:

Bay Minette Alabama

Bay Minette is a city in Baldwin County. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 8,044. The city is the county seat of Baldwin County.

Daphne Alabama

Daphne is a city in Baldwin County on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 170 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The 2010 United States Census lists the population of the city as 21,570, making Daphne the most populous city in Baldwin County. It is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolitan area, which includes all of Baldwin County. Daphne has adopted the nickname ″The Jubilee City″ in recognition of its status as one of the locations of the Mobile Bay jubilee.

Fairhope Alabama

Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 15,326. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area, which includes all of Baldwin County. In 2016, Fairhope was named the best small town in the South by Southern Living magazine.

Foley Alabama

Gulf Shores Alabama

Gulf Shores is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 9,741.

Orange Beach Alabama

Orange Beach is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 5,441.

Robertsdale Alabama

Robertsdale is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 5,276. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.

U.S. Route 90 (Old Spanish Trail) passes through the city, leading west 24 miles (39 km) to Mobile and east 35 miles (56 km) to Pensacola, Florida. The city of Robertsdale hosts the Baldwin County Fair every fall for at least four days.

Spanish Fort Alabama

Baldwin County Alabama Towns:

Elberta Alabama

Elberta is a town in Baldwin County. At the 2010 census the population was 1,498, up from 552 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.Elberta was founded in the early 20th century by a Chicago-based land company. The Baldwin County Colonization Company was organized in 1903, and the first settlers arrived in 1904. The community was founded by farmers who had immigrated from Germany to the Midwest of America. The land company advertised the area as having rich soil and a climate that allowed year-round farming.

Loxley Alabama

Loxley is a town in Baldwin County. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,632. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area. Loxley is becoming a popular location for the expansion of the suburbs from Daphne and Spanish Fort, Alabama, because it is served by an Interstate 10 exit and is almost directly between the cities of Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida.

The most central community in Baldwin County, Loxley is the home of the county’s Strawberry Festival and gateway to the area’s other prime destinations. Every year, thousands of beach-goers travel through Loxley on their way to the lovely white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. Loxley also rests a few minutes east of the peaceful Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay and a short drive south of the county seat in Bay Minette. 

Magnolia Springs Alabama

Magnolia Springs is a town in south Baldwin County, in the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town voted to incorporate in 2006. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 723.

Town of Magnolia Springs Website

Perdido Beach Alabama

Perdido Beach is a town located on the northern shore of Perdido Bay, between the mouths of Soldier Creek and Palmetto Creek in Baldwin County. In an April 2009 plebiscite, over 60% of local voters supported incorporation as a town. On June 10, 2009, Baldwin County Probate Judge Adrian Johns issued an order which incorporated the area as a town. The first municipal elections, in which the mayor and town council will be elected, were scheduled for the fall of 2009. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 581.

Perdido Beach is a close knit community and has over 100 years of recorded history. Many years ago, Perdido Bay was rendezvous for Pirates. Old Spanish coins have been found, also old guns, and it is reported that at least one pirate treasure has been found.  It is certain that in the early days, smugglers sailed up Perdido Bay into Perdido River to the American, Mississippi and Alabama territory to escape the Spanish custom duty.

Source: Town of Perdido Beach Alabama Website

Silverhill Alabama

Silverhill is a town in Baldwin County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 706. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area. Nestled in the heart of Central Baldwin County, Silverhill is a step back in time to a simpler, easier way of life. Historic buildings and live oaks still line the streets of our quaint town.
The People’s Supply Store built in 1902, is now our bank. Silverhill’s first schoolhouse built in 1898, is now our Town Library.
With our historic charm, newly-constructed kids park, friendly small town atmosphere, and commitment to residents’ quality of life, Silverhill has ensured that it is and will continue to be: “A Good Place to Live”.

Summerdale Alabama

Summerdale is a rural town in south-central Baldwin County. It is the site of the Naval Outlying Field Summerdale. At the 2010 census the population was 862. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Metropolitan Statistical Area. A small, quiet town just minutes from the sandy white beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.

Baldwin County Alabama Communities:

Barnwell Alabama

Barnwell is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. It is located along US 98 in the southern part of the county. Some municipal services are provided by Fairhope. Barnwell is designated by the USGS as a populated place that is neither incorporated nor a census-designated place.

Bayside Alabama

Belforest Alabama

Belforest is a small, unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Belforest is located on Alabama State Route 181, 2.9 miles east of Daphne.

Blackwater Alabama

Blackwater River

Blackwater River is a 30.3-mile-long  river in Baldwin County, Alabama. The Blackwater River originates at 30.63991°N 87.70221°W near Loxley, and discharges into the Perdido River at 30.48241°N 87.43525°W near Lillian.

Blakeley Alabama

Blakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County. During the height of its existence, Blakeley was a thriving town which flourished as a competitor to its western neighbor, Mobile. Blakeley was the county seat for Baldwin County from 1820 until 1868, when the county government was moved south to Daphne. It was the location of a major fort during the Civil War. One of the last battles of the Civil War was fought here in April 1865, as Union soldiers overran Confederates. The town is now in an Alabama historic state park known as Historic Blakeley State Park, north of Spanish Fort.

Bridgehead Alabama

Bridgehead is a populated place located within the City of Spanish Fort. In turn, the City of Spanish Fort is located within Baldwin County.

Bon Secour Alabama

Bon Secour is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. It lies along the eastern coastline of Bon Secour Bay. Bon Secour is over 35 miles due east of the Alabama–Mississippi state line, near Gulf Shores, and over 45 miles west of Pensacola, Florida. The name “Bon Secour” derives from the French phrase meaning “safe harbor” due to the secluded location on the inside coast of the Fort Morgan peninsula of southern Alabama.
Wikipedia

The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge is nearby, along Ft. Morgan Road, on the island, over the Intracoastal Waterway bridge.

Bromly Alabama

Bromley is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Map

Clay City Alabama

Clay City is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. The community is named for the surrounding deposits of clay.
Clay City was formerly home to brick and tile manufacturers. The tile used in the former Fairhope City Hall was made in Clay City. The first pottery works in Clay City was established on the banks of the Fish River in 1850, and remained in operation until 1900. Another pottery works was established in 1940, and its kilns can still be seen today.
Location: 30.485833,-87.806667

Crossroads Alabama

Crossroads is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Crossroads is located on Alabama State Route 225, 5.5 miles southwest of Bay Minette.

Elsanor Alabama

Elsanor is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Elsanor is located on U.S. Route 90, 7.7 miles east of Robertsdale Alabama.

Fort Morgan Alabama

Fort Morgan, also known as Fort Bowyer, is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. It is west of Gulf Shores on Mobile Point. Mobile Point extends from Gulf Shores to the west, towards historic Fort Morgan at the tip of the peninsula.

Houstonville Alabama

Houstonville Alabama is a populated place located within the Point Clear Census Designated Place (CDP). In turn, the Point Clear CDP is located within Baldwin County.

Josephine Alabama

Josephine is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County.

Lillian Alabama

Lillian is an unincorporated community in eastern Baldwin County. Lillian is located on U.S. Route 98 on the western shore of Perdido Bay, 9.5 miles east of Elberta.

Little River Alabama

Little River is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County.

Magnolia Beach Alabama

Malbis Alabama

Malbis is an Unincorporated community in Baldwin County. The community lies at the crossroads of U.S. 90 and Alabama State Route 181 just south and north 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.

Marlow Alabama

Marlow is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. A post office operated under the name Marlow from 1887 to 1909.

Marlow is the former site of Marlow Ferry. The ferry was used by Andrew Jackson and his troops during the War of 1812 and by the Union Army during the American Civil War. The ferry crossed the Fish River, and was an originating point for produce headed to Mobile.

Miflin Alabama

Miflin is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County located along County Route 20 (Miflin Road) 5 miles east-southeast of Foley. A post office operated under the name Miflin from 1907 to 1951.

Montrose Alabama

Montrose, also known as Sibley City, is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The community was originally known as Sibley City in honor of Cyrus Sibley, an early landowner in the area. The name was then changed to Montrose, in honor of Montrose, Scotland. A post office first opened under the name Montrose in 1879.

Oak Alabama

Oak is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. A post office operated under the name Oak from 1905 to 1923.

Oyster Bay Alabama

Oyster Bay is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Oyster Bay is located at the mouth of the Bon Secour River into Bon Secour Bay, 3.4 miles west of Gulf Shores. 

Park City Alabama

A geographically defined area within the City of Daphne Alabama known as the Park City Community. In turn, the City of Daphne is located within Baldwin County.

Perdido Alabama

Perdido, also known as Perdido Station, is an unincorporated community in Baldwin Countys. Perdido is located along County Route 61, 12.2 miles northeast of Bay Minette. Perdido is named after the Perdido River. A post office operated under the name Perdido Station from 1871 to 1923, and under the name Perdido from 1923 to the present.

Perdido Key Alabama

Pine Grove Alabama

Pine Grove is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County south of Bay Minette.

Pine Haven Alabama

Point Clear Alabama

Rabun Alabama

Rabun is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County.

River Park Alabama

Romar Beach Alabama

Rosinton Alabama

Rosinton is a populated place located in Baldwin County. The elevation of Rosinton is 177 feet. Rosinton appears on the Robertsdale U.S. Geological Survey Map. Located at at latitude 30.619 and longitude -87.694

Seacliff Alabama

Seminole Alabama

Seminole is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. Seminole is located along U.S. Route 90, 14.4 miles east of Robertsdale. The community is named after the Seminole Indian tribe. A post office operated under the name Seminole from 1894 to 1967.

Spanish Cove Alabama

Spanish Cove is a neighborhood of homes in Lillian Alabama.

Stapleton Alabama

Stapleton is a small unincorporated community in northern Baldwin County, with a population of 519.  Stapleton was first known as Canby and a post office was established there in 1895. Canby was on the Bay Minette & Fort Morgan Railroad line established by L&N. Not long after the railroad was built, the name of Canby was changed to Stapleton, in honor of W.D. Stapleton. Mr Stapleton was instrumental in getting the depot for the town.

Stockton Alabama

Stockton is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. It is the nearest community to Bottle Creek Indian Mounds, a National Historic Landmark.
The community is part of the Bay Minette-Daphne-Fairhope-Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.
A slasher film, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, was made in and around the Stockton area.

Swift Alabama

Swift is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. A post office operated under the name Swift from 1882 to 1912.

Tensaw Alabama

Tensaw is an unincorporated community in Baldwin County. It is the home of historic Fort Mims.

The name Tensaw is derived from the historic indigenous Taensa people. A post office operated under the name Tensaw from 1807 to 1953.

Turkey Branch Alabama

Turkey Branch is a populated place located in Baldwin County at latitude 30.42222 and longitude -87.840206.

Weeks Bay Alabama

Weeks Bay is a bay in Alabama and has an elevation of 7 feet. Weeks Bay is situated southwest of Bayside, east of Weeks Branch.

Whitehouse Forks Alabama

Whitehouse Forks is a populated place located in Baldwin County at latitude 30.808 and longitude -87.814.

Yupon Alabama

Baldwin County Alabama Festivals

Fairhope Arts & Crafts Festival (since 1953)
Fairhope, Third weekend in March (Beginning Friday).

Outdoor Art Show (Since 1973)
Eastern Shore Art Center, Fairhope, Third weekend in March.

Festa Italiana
Christ the King Catholic Church, Daphne, Third weekend in March.

Elberta Sausage Festival
Elberta, Last Saturday in March & Last Saturday in October

Bluegrass Festival
Stapleton, May.

Featured in the North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce Newletter – May 2000

Written By Sommer Cotton with information provided by Bill Stough

Strawberry Festival (Since 1988)
Loxley, First Saturday in May.

Sea Oats Jazz & Arts Festival (Since 1981)
Gulf Shores, First weekend in May.

Art-in-the-Park
Foley, Second weekend in May. Since 1971 each Mother’s Day weekend, join us at “Art in the Park”, a competitive juried fine arts show for artists and craftsmen from across the southeast. This event is held each spring on the lawn of the John B. Foley Park in downtown Foley and has grown to attract thousands of attendees. Over 100 artists showcase their talents while providing unique, hand crafted cultural experiences and shopping opportunities .
5,000 attendees expected.

Honey Bee Festival (Since 1990)
Robertsdale, Third weekend in May.

Independence Day Celebrations
Bay Minette, Fairhope, Daphne, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, July 4.

Blakeley Cajun /Bluegrass Festival (Since 1979)
Blakeley State Park, First Saturday in October.

National Shrimp Fest (Since 1971)
Gulf Shores, Second weekend in October (Thursday – Saturday)

Grand Festival of Art (Since 1981)
Marriott’s Grand Hotel, Point Clear, Third weekend in October.

Fall Festival
Stockton, Third weekend in October.

Silverhill Heritage Day Festival
Silverhill, First Saturday in November.

Jubilee Festival (Since 1989)
Daphne, Second weekend in September.

Christmas Fest (Since 1981)
Bay Minette, First weekend in December.

Additional Content About Baldwin County:

Baldwin County Has Been the Theatre of Some of the most Striking Events in Alabama History

Baldwin County Alabama Weblinks

Baldwin County Alabama Sites Of Interest

Return to Alabama Counties Index