Fairhope, and its surrounding area, is one of those rare places that remain deeply itself despite the world changing around it. From antiques to bookstores, fashionable apparel to gifts, and art galleries filled with amazing local and national talent, Fairhope is a treat for anyone who likes to stroll, browse, shop, or wander. Named one of the very best small towns in the South by Southern Living magazine, the town sparkles with inviting, flower-filled commercial avenues, pedestrian-friendly streets, and the vibrant independent culture alive in each art gallery, shop, and restaurant. Add in parks and museums, festivals, and hiking trails, and the lure of locals in this special part of the world is abundantly apparent.
Just north of downtown Mobile, on the muddy banks of the Mobile River, lies the wreckage of the schooner Clotilda, the last known slave ship to enter the United States. Under the cover of night in the summer of 1860, a ship carrying 110 African captives slipped into Mobile Bay. The Clotilda, the last known American slave ship, made its illegal voyage 52 years after the international slave trade was outlawed. In the years to come, the displaced Africans survived enslavement and established a community as free Americans. They maintained their African identities, creating the tight-knit, independent community known as Africatown (just north of downtown Mobile). In 2019, it was announced that the Clotilda had been discovered at the bottom of the Mobile River: a tangible link to the names and stories passed down through generations of descendants. The ship’s remains are a testament to the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade. The story of the people and the community of Africatown, however, is one of survival and resilience.
Clotilda: The Exhibition
Clotilda In Mobile, Alabama | Last Slave Ship In The USA
