MOBILE

city, seat of Mobile County, southwestern Alabama, U.S. It lies on Mobile Bay (Gulf of Mexico) at the mouth of the Mobile River and is a river port and Alabama's only seaport. The site was explored by Spaniards as early as 1519. In 1702 French colonists under Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville established a fort 27 miles (43 km) above the river mouth. The fort was moved to the present site in 1711, and the town that was built there served as the capital of French Louisiana until 1720. Mobile was a French adaptation of the name of a local Indian tribe, Maubilian, meaning canoe paddler. In 1763 the town was ceded to the British. During the U.S. War of Independence, Spanish forces under the leadership of Bernardo de Glvez captured Mobile. Seized by the United States during the War of 1812, it was incorporated as a town in 1814; as a part of West Florida, however, Mobile's status was not finally clarified until the United States purchased Florida from Spain in 1819. During the American Civil War, Mobile was one of the most important Confederate ports, and it maintained its trade with the West Indies and Europe despite a Federal blockade begun in 1861. The port functioned until August 1864, when the Battle of Mobile Bay, fought between the opposing Federal and Confederate fleets, was won by the Federal admiral David G. Farragut. Two forts at the bay's entrance, Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island (q.v.) and Fort Morgan on Mobile Point, surrendered immediately thereafter. In the spring of 1865 the Union general Edward R.S. Canby successfully laid siege to Fort Blakely and Spanish Fort, on the east side of the bay. After 25 days the forts, and then the city, were evacuated, and Federal forces entered Mobile on April 12, 1865. In 1879 the municipality went bankrupt, but the economy gradually improved and in 1887 Mobile was again chartered as a city. Banana importing commenced in 1893, supplementing the old export trade in lumber and cotton that were produced inland. The port's commerce was progressively stimulated by the opening of the Panama Canal (1914), the completion of a system of locks and dams on the WarriorTombigbee rivers (1915), the development of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and federal barge lines, the construction of the Alabama State Docks and Terminals (begun in 1923), the completion of Cochrane Bridge across the Mobile River (1927), and the construction of Bankhead Tunnel under the Mobile River (1941). Controlling the depth of the ship channel has been a vital factor in the commercial history of the city; the original minimum depth and width have gradually been greatly increased. Industrialization increased after 1900. Mobile played a major role as a port and shipbuilding and repair centre during World Wars I and II. The city's varied manufactures now include pulp, paper, chemical and petroleum products, and textiles; the refinement of bauxite and food processing are among its other industries. The city is the site of Spring Hill College (1830; Roman Catholic), University of South Alabama (1963), and University of Mobile (1961). Bellingrath Gardens, a local estate, is noted for its varieties of azalea plants. Other points of interest include a statue of Admiral Raphael Semmes, the Confederate naval hero; Oakleigh, an antebellum home; the Battleship USS Alabama Memorial Park; and Forts Morgan and Gaines. Pop. (1990) city, 196,278; MSA, 476,923.