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Mobile, Alabama is known as the “Azalea City” and seniors visit every year to see the flowers in bloom.

Mobile AL History

Europeans first came to the Mobile area when Spanish explorers arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519. Explorer Hernando de Soto visited the area in 1540, but the first permanent European settlement was founded by the French at Fort Louis de la Mobile in 1702. Mobile served as the capital of French Louisiana until 1719. Under the Treaty of Paris, the British gained control of the area in 1763. While England was fighting the American Revolution in 1780, Spanish forces captured the city. In 1813, General James Wilkinson seized Mobile from Spain for the United States. Mobile incorporated as a U.S. town in 1819.

During the Civil War, Mobile was an important Confederate port. Confederate ships were able to evade the Union blockade until the Union’s important victory at Mobile Bay in 1864. Union forces captured the city in 1865.

During the 1920’s, evergreen azaleas with brilliant spring blooms were imported to the city to create a tourist attraction known as the Azalea Trail. From the 1930’s through the 1950’s, tourists flocked to Mobile to see azaleas in bloom. This legacy can still be seen at Bellingrath Gardens and Mobile's annual Festival of Flowers.

Mobile Alabama– Garden City on the Gulf Coast

Mobile, Alabama has many magnificent gardens and many beautiful homes that date back to the Civil War era. Seniors enjoy the relaxed coastal lifestyle found only in Mobile Bay on the Gulf Coast.