Fairhope, Alabama
SPONSORED BY ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT
Local historian Donnie Barrett conducted the last of the annual April Walking Tours last weekend, of the Fairhope pier/bayfront area.
Fairhope was again one of the sixteen cites in the state taking part this year.
He explained the history of the pier and bayfront, various buildings located there over the years, and his remembrances of the area growing up, among other things.
Tours on the previous weekends in the month were of downtown and the Colony Cemetery.
CITY'S FIRST FRONT DOOR/TOWN SQUARE
Barrett said a town called Alabama City on "new city hill" (downtown Fairhope today) was planned here in the 1820's after the Indians were removed from the territory; but although plans were actually drawn-up and staked out, that effort never really got off the ground and it failed in 1858.
Early-on, the pier/rose garden area was the city's front door he said; because there were no roads until Hwy 98 was built in 1927, access was only by boat.
The bayside casino building was torn down to make way for the current pier and parking area in 1969, funded by federal grants.
The fountain itself was built by city employees in 1984; a sand-mold on the beach nearby was used for the top concrete bowl part ... and black stains from motor oil used as a lubricant (prevent sticking) may still be seen on its bottom, he said.
BIG TREES SAVED BY EARLY RESIDENT
Barrett said the whole eastern shore area area was clear cut of trees (for the lumber) before the Civil War and in the 1880's ... even before Fairhope was founded (causing serious erosion and the city's famous "gullies"); but credited William Stacks with saving a few beside the gully named for him: Stack's Gully.
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| Donnie Barrett second from left |
SPONSORED BY ALABAMA TOURISM DEPARTMENT
Local historian Donnie Barrett conducted the last of the annual April Walking Tours last weekend, of the Fairhope pier/bayfront area.
Fairhope was again one of the sixteen cites in the state taking part this year.
He explained the history of the pier and bayfront, various buildings located there over the years, and his remembrances of the area growing up, among other things.
Tours on the previous weekends in the month were of downtown and the Colony Cemetery.
CITY'S FIRST FRONT DOOR/TOWN SQUARE
Barrett said a town called Alabama City on "new city hill" (downtown Fairhope today) was planned here in the 1820's after the Indians were removed from the territory; but although plans were actually drawn-up and staked out, that effort never really got off the ground and it failed in 1858.Early-on, the pier/rose garden area was the city's front door he said; because there were no roads until Hwy 98 was built in 1927, access was only by boat.
The bayside casino building was torn down to make way for the current pier and parking area in 1969, funded by federal grants.
The fountain itself was built by city employees in 1984; a sand-mold on the beach nearby was used for the top concrete bowl part ... and black stains from motor oil used as a lubricant (prevent sticking) may still be seen on its bottom, he said.
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| Bayside casino demolished in 1968. |
BIG TREES SAVED BY EARLY RESIDENT
Barrett said the whole eastern shore area area was clear cut of trees (for the lumber) before the Civil War and in the 1880's ... even before Fairhope was founded (causing serious erosion and the city's famous "gullies"); but credited William Stacks with saving a few beside the gully named for him: Stack's Gully.
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| 200 year old magnolia and pine trees |
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