The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama . The team, which plays in the Southern League , is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Barons were previously located in Montgomery, Alabama , and known as the Montgomery Rebels .
114-600: Most of the professional baseball teams that have played in Birmingham have used the name Barons. The current team began playing in Birmingham in 1981, having previously played in Montgomery, Alabama as the Montgomery Rebels . Like previous Barons teams, they played at Rickwood Field on a full-time basis from 1981 to 1987. Since then, they have only played at Rickwood on special occasions. From 1988 to 2012,
228-560: A mayor-council form of government, with seven members elected from single-member districts . This was approved by voters. As white conservatives increasingly entered the Republican Party in the late 20th century, African-American residents of the city have elected members of the Democratic Party as their candidates of choice. Since the change to single-member districts, more women and African Americans were elected to
342-476: A riverboat dock, a river walk, and Riverwalk Stadium . The completion of a 112,000-square-foot (10,400 m ) space in 2007, the Convention Center, has encouraged growth and activity in the downtown area and attracted more high-end retail and restaurants. Three blocks east of the Convention Center, Old Alabama Town showcases more than 50 restored buildings from the 19th century. The Riverwalk
456-459: A 30-year period. Mobile averages 120 days per year with at least 0.01 inches (0.3 mm) of rain. Precipitation is heavy year-round. On average, July and August are the wettest months, with frequent and often-heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. October stands out as a slightly drier month than all others. Snow is rare in Mobile, with its last snowfall occurring on December 8, 2017; before this,
570-481: A 6th-7th century Gaelic overkingdom; a subsequent misspelling in an advertisement led to the current spelling. The first lots were sold in 1914. The city's two largest shopping malls ( Eastdale Mall and The Shoppes at Eastchase ), as well as many big-box stores and residential developments, are on the east side. The area is also home of the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park . This 240-acre (1.0 km ) park contains
684-728: A century later, when an English expedition from Carolina went down the Alabama River in 1697. The first permanent European settler in the Montgomery area was James McQueen , a Scots trader who settled there in 1716. He married a high-status woman in the Coushatta or Alabama tribe. Their mixed-race children were considered Muskogean, as both tribes had a matrilineal system of property and descent. The children were always considered born into their mother's clan , and gained their status from her people. In 1785, Abraham Mordecai,
798-519: A city of commerce with a primary focus on the cotton and slave trades. Many slaves were transported by ship in the coastwise slave trade from the Upper South. There were many businesses in the city related to the slave trade – people to make clothes, food, and supplies for the slave traders and their wards. The city's booming businesses attracted merchants from the North; by 1850 10% of its population
912-569: A copious number of T2 tankers for the War Department. Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation , a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation , focused on building freighters , Fletcher -class destroyers , and minesweepers . The rapid increase of population in the city produced crowded conditions, increasing social tensions in the competition for housing and good jobs. In May 1943, a race riot broke out between whites and blacks. ADDSCO management had long maintained segregated conditions at
1026-457: A family of four. These are slightly higher than the state averages of $ 20.15 per hour for an individual and $ 41.11 for a family of four. US$ 7.25 per hour minimum wage in Alabama. Montgomery serves as a hub for healthcare in the central Alabama and Black Belt region. Hospitals located in the city include Baptist Medical Center South on South East Boulevard, Baptist Medical Center East next to
1140-679: A majority for their candidates in the informally segregated city. In 1969, the Brookley Air Force Base was closed by the Department of Defense, dealing a severe blow to Mobile's economy. The closing resulted in a 10% unemployment rate in the city. This and other factors related to industrial restructuring ushered in a period of economic depression that lasted through the 1970s. The loss of jobs created numerous problems and resulted in loss of population as residents moved away for work. Mobile's city commission form of government
1254-447: A meeting with his Union counterpart, Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby . The two generals met several miles north of Mobile on May 2. After agreeing to a 48-hour truce , the generals enjoyed an al fresco luncheon of food, drink, and lively music. Canby offered Taylor the same terms agreed upon between Lee and Grant at Appomattox . Taylor accepted the terms and surrendered his command on May 4 at Citronelle, Alabama . Considered one of
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#17327717365101368-468: A path ending in Prichard. Initial damage estimates for insured and uninsured ranged from $ 140 to $ 150 million. Mobile's French and Spanish colonial history has given it a culture distinguished by French, Spanish, Creole , African and Catholic heritage, in addition to later British and American influences. It is distinguished from all other cities in the state of Alabama. The annual Carnival celebration
1482-612: A result of the new British rule and religious tolerance. Jews had not been allowed to officially reside in colonial French Louisiana due to the Code Noir , a decree passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685 that forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies. Most of these colonial-era Jews in Mobile were merchants and traders from Sephardic Jewish communities in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina ; they added to
1596-561: A series of floods resulted in Bienville ordering in 1711 that the settlement be relocated several miles downriver to its present location at the confluence of the Mobile River and Mobile Bay . A new earth-and-palisade Fort Louis was constructed at the new site during this time. By 1712, when Antoine Crozat was appointed to take over administration of the colony, its population had reached 400 persons. The capital of La Louisiane
1710-592: A system that was nicknamed the Lightning Route . Residents followed the streetcar lines to settle in new housing in what were then "suburban" locations. As the Reconstruction era ended, mayor W. L. Moses asked the state legislature to gerrymander city boundaries. It complied and removed the districts where African Americans lived, restoring white supremacy to the city's demographics and electorate. This prevented African Americans from being elected in
1824-659: A war veteran from a Sephardic Jewish family of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, established a trading post . The Coushatta and Alabama had gradually moved south and west in the tidal plain. After the French were defeated by the British in 1763 in the Seven Years' War and ceded control of their lands, these Native American peoples moved to parts of present-day Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, then areas of Spanish rule , which they thought more favorable than British-held areas. By
1938-476: Is Steven Reed , who was elected as the city's first African-American mayor in a runoff election which was held on October 8, 2019. The city is served by a nine-member city council, elected from nine single-member districts of equal size population. As the seat of Montgomery County , the city is the location of county courts and the county commission, elected separately. Montgomery is the capital of Alabama, and hosts numerous state government offices, including
2052-565: Is 46.6 °F (8.1 °C), and there are 3.4 days of sub 20 °F (−7 °C) lows; 10 °F (−12 °C) and below is extremely rare. The daily average in July is 81.8 °F (27.7 °C), with highs exceeding 90 °F (32.2 °C) on 86 days per year and 100 °F (37.8 °C) on 3.9. Summer afternoon heat indices, much more often than the actual air temperature, are frequently at or above 100 °F. The diurnal temperature variation tends to be large in spring and autumn. Rainfall
2166-482: Is built on the site of two Alibamu towns: Ikanatchati (Ekanchattee or Ecunchatty or Econachatee), meaning "red earth;" and Towassa , built on a bluff called Chunnaanaauga Chatty. The first Europeans to travel through central Alabama were Hernando de Soto and his expedition, who in 1540 recorded going through Ikanatchati and camping for one week in Towassa. The next recorded European encounter occurred more than
2280-750: Is home to the newly built Wright Brothers Park. High-end apartments are planned for this area. The Bell Building , located across from the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, is being redeveloped for mixed-use retail and residential space. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened in downtown Montgomery on April 26, 2018. Founded by the Equal Justice Initiative , it acknowledges the historic past of racial terrorism and lynching in America. South of downtown, across Interstate 85 , lies Alabama State University . ASU's campus
2394-572: Is located at 32°21′42″N 86°16′45″W / 32.36167°N 86.27917°W / 32.36167; -86.27917 . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 162.27 square miles (420.3 km ), of which 159.86 square miles (414.0 km ) is land and 2.41 square miles (6.2 km ) (0.52%) is water. The city is built over rolling terrain at an elevation of about 220 feet (67 m) above sea level. Downtown Montgomery lies along
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#17327717365102508-400: Is part of a larger plan to revitalize the downtown area and connect it to the waterfront. The plan includes urban forestry , infill development, and façade renovation to encourage business and residential growth. Other downtown developments include historic Dexter Avenue, which will be the center of a Market District. A$ 6 million streetscape project is improving its design. Maxwell Boulevard
2622-467: Is perhaps the best example of its differences. Mobile is the birthplace of the celebration of Mardi Gras in the United States and has the oldest celebration, dating to the early 18th century during the French colonial period. Carnival in Mobile evolved over the course of 300 years from a beginning as a sedate French Catholic tradition into the mainstream multi-week celebration that today bridges
2736-536: Is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County . Named for Continental Army Major General Richard Montgomery , it stands beside the Alabama River , on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico . The population was 200,603 at the 2020 census . It is the third-most populous city in the state after Huntsville and Birmingham , and is the 128th most populous in
2850-725: Is the broadcast commentator for both WERC and MiLB.TV and has been the voice of the Barons since 1992. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Chicago White Sox 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 24, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Southern League → Chicago White Sox minor league players Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery
2964-492: Is well-distributed throughout the year, though February, March and July are the wettest months, while October is significantly the driest month. Snowfall occurs only during some winters, and even then is usually light. Substantial snowstorms are rare, but do occur approximately once every 10 years. Extremes range from −5 °F (−21 °C) on February 13, 1899 to 107 °F (42 °C) on July 7, 1881. Thunderstorms bring much of Montgomery's rainfall. These are common during
3078-474: The 2020 census , there were 200,603 people, 82,835 households, and 49,303 families residing in the city. There were 93,920 housing units. As of the 2010 census , there were 205,764 people, 81,486 households, out of which 29% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The racial makeup of the city was 37.3% White , 56.6% Black , 2.2% Asian , 0.2% Native American , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 2.2% from other races , and 1.3% from two or more races. 3.9% of
3192-893: The Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts . Montgomery has been recognized nationally for its continuing downtown revitalization. In the early 2000s, the city constructed the Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball stadium and Riverfront Park. Following those developments, hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested by private companies that have adapted old warehouses and office buildings into loft apartments, restaurants, retail, hotels, and businesses. The demand for downtown living space has risen, as people want to have walkable, lively neighborhoods. More than 500 apartment units are under construction, including The Heights on Maxwell Boulevard, The Market District on Dexter Avenue,
3306-645: The Alabama Shakespeare Festival , the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts , and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice . Montgomery has also been recognized nationally for its downtown revitalization and new urbanism projects. It was one of the first cities in the nation to implement SmartCode Zoning . Prior to European colonization, the east bank of the Alabama River was inhabited by the Alibamu tribe of Native Americans . The Alibamu and
3420-767: The Alabama State Capitol . The Capitol is located atop a hill at one end of Dexter Avenue, along which also lies the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church , where Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor. Both the Capitol and Dexter Baptist Church are recognized as National Historic Landmarks by the U.S. Department of the Interior . Other notable buildings include RSA Dexter Avenue, RSA Headquarters, Alabama Center for Commerce, RSA Union, and
3534-486: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 , eventually ending legal segregation and regaining effective suffrage for African Americans. But whites in the state had more than one way to reduce African Americans' voting power. Maintaining the city commission form of government with at-large voting resulted in all positions being elected by the white majority, as African Americans could not command
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3648-712: The Civil Rights Movement , including the Montgomery bus boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches . In addition to housing many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence, due to Maxwell Air Force Base . It has three public universities ( Alabama State University , Troy University (Montgomery campus), and Auburn University at Montgomery ), two private post-secondary institutions ( Faulkner University and Huntingdon College ), high-tech manufacturing (particularly Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama ), and many cultural attractions, such as
3762-697: The Confederate States of America . Montgomery was named the first capital of the nation, and Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president on the steps of the State Capitol . The capital was later moved to Richmond, Virginia. On April 12, 1865, following the Battle of Selma , Major General James H. Wilson captured Montgomery for the Union. In 1886 Montgomery became the first city in the United States to install citywide electric streetcars along
3876-753: The Coushatta , who lived on the west side of the river, were descended from the Mississippian culture . This civilization had numerous chiefdoms throughout the Midwest and South along the Mississippi and its tributaries, and had built massive earthwork mounds as part of their society about 950–1250 AD. Its largest location was at Cahokia , in present-day Illinois east of St. Louis . The historic tribes spoke mutually intelligible Muskogean languages , which were closely related. Present-day Montgomery
3990-492: The Gulf Coast 's cultural centers, Mobile has several art museums, a symphony orchestra, professional opera, professional ballet company, and a large concentration of historic architecture. Mobile is known for having the oldest organized Carnival or Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States. Alabama's French Creole population celebrated this festival from the first decade of the 18th century. Beginning in 1830, Mobile
4104-509: The Gulf of Mexico provides a mild subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. The record low temperature was −1 °F (−18 °C), set on February 13, 1899, and the record high was 105 °F (41 °C), set on August 29, 2000. A 2007 study by WeatherBill, Inc. determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with 66.3 inches (1,680 mm) of average annual rainfall over
4218-551: The Mobile River , as the first capital of the French colony of La Louisiane . It was founded by French Canadian brothers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville , to establish control over France's claims to La Louisiane . Bienville was appointed as royal governor of French Louisiana in 1701. Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20, 1703, by Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier , Bishop of Quebec . The parish
4332-569: The Progressive Era to Mobile. The economic structure developed with new industries, generating new jobs and attracting a significant increase in population. The population increased from around 40,000 in 1900 to 60,000 by 1920. During this time the city received $ 3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels. During and after World War I, manufacturing became increasingly vital to Mobile's economic health, with shipbuilding and steel production being two of
4446-565: The Uniform Crime Report statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2022, there were 522 violent crimes and 2,636 property crimes per 100,000 residents. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of 18 murders, 9 forcible rapes, 141 robberies and 354 aggravated assaults, while 562 burglaries, 1,773 larceny-thefts, 301 motor vehicle thefts and 0 acts of arson defined the property offenses. According to
4560-593: The federal land office in Milledgeville, Georgia . The first group of white settlers to come to the Montgomery area was headed by General John Scott . This group founded Alabama Town about 2 miles (3 km) downstream on the Alabama River from present-day downtown Montgomery. In June 1818, county courts were moved from Fort Jackson to Alabama Town. Alabama was admitted to the Union in December 1819. Soon after, Andrew Dexter Jr. founded New Philadelphia,
4674-463: The fourth-most populous city in Alabama, after Montgomery , Birmingham , and Huntsville . Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile metropolitan area , a region of 430,197 residents composed of Mobile and Washington counties; it is the third-largest metropolitan area in the state after Birmingham and Huntsville. Alabama's only saltwater port, Mobile is located on the Mobile River at
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4788-578: The 1763 Treaty of Paris. Their actions were condoned by the revolting American colonies, partially evidenced by the presence of Oliver Pollack, representative of the American Continental Congress. Due to strong trade ties, many residents of Mobile and West Florida remained loyal to the British Crown . The Spanish renamed the fort as Fortaleza Carlota, and held Mobile as a part of Spanish West Florida until 1813, when it
4902-424: The Alabama River to deliver enslaved laborers to planters, to work the cotton . Buoyed by the revenues of the cotton trade at a time of high market demand, the newly united Montgomery grew quickly. In 1822, the city was designated as the county seat. A new courthouse was built at the present location of Court Square, at the foot of Market Street (now Dexter Avenue). Court Square had one of the largest slave markets in
5016-609: The Cater Act in 1949, allowing cities and counties to set up industrial development boards (IDB) to issue municipal bonds as incentives to attract new industry into their local areas. The city of Mobile did not establish a Cater Act board until 1962. George E. McNally , Mobile's first Republican mayor since Reconstruction, was the driving force behind the founding of the IDB. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, believing its members were better qualified to attract new businesses and industry to
5130-573: The Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. In 2023, Diamond Baseball Holdings purchased the team from The Logan Family . All Birmingham Barons games are televised live on MiLB.TV . All games are also broadcast on radio on either WJQX 100.5 FM, WJOX-FM 94.5 FM or WJOX-AM 690 AM. Birmingham Barons Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Curt Bloom
5244-649: The Garden District, Cloverdale, and Huntingdon are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places as historic districts . Montgomery's east side is the fastest-growing part of the city. Development of the Dalraida neighborhood, along Atlanta Highway, began in 1909, when developers Cook and Laurie bought land from the Ware plantation. A Scotsman, Georgie Laurie named the area for Dál Riata ,
5358-621: The Gulf Coast cities. A storm surge of 11.45 feet (3.49 m), topped by higher waves, damaged eastern sections of the city with extensive flooding in downtown, the Battleship Parkway , and the elevated Jubilee Parkway . In late December 2012, the city suffered two tornado hits. On December 25, 2012, at 4:54 pm, a large wedge tornado touched down in the city. The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved north-northeast at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h). The path took
5472-554: The Kress Building on Dexter Avenue, The Bell Building on Montgomery Street, and a new complex by the convention center. Additionally, Montgomery has recently opened a 50 million dollar white water park on July 7, located off Maxwell Boulevard. Montgomery has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with short, mild winters, warm springs and autumns, and long, hot, humid summers. The daily average temperature in January
5586-671: The Midtown at the Loop neighborhood, Murphy High School , Trinity Episcopal Church , Springhill Avenue Temple , and Mobile Infirmary Hospital before moving into the neighboring city of Prichard. The tornado was classified as an EF2 tornado by the National Weather Service on December 26. The path taken through the city was just a short distance east of the path taken days earlier, on December 20, by an EF1 tornado which had touched down near Davidson High School and taken
5700-498: The Mississippi River to Britain. This area was made a part of the expanded British West Florida colony. The British changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte , after Queen Charlotte . The British were eager not to lose any useful inhabitants and promised religious tolerance to the French colonists; ultimately 112 French colonists remained in Mobile. The first permanent Jewish settlers came to Mobile in 1763 as
5814-699: The Mobile County School Board for being denied admission to Murphy High School . This was nearly a decade after the United States Supreme Court had ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The federal district court ordered that the three students be admitted to Murphy for the 1964 school year, leading to the desegregation of Mobile County's school system. The civil rights movement gained congressional passage of
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#17327717365105928-780: The Renaissance Hotel and Spa. One block south of the Capitol is the First White House of the Confederacy , the 1835 Italianate-style house in which President Jefferson Davis and family lived while the Confederate capital was in Montgomery. Montgomery's third National Historic Landmark is Union Station . Passenger train service to Montgomery ceased in 1989. Today Union Station is part of the Riverfront Park development, which includes an amphitheater,
6042-536: The South. The state capital was moved from Tuscaloosa to Montgomery, on January 28, 1846. As state capital, Montgomery began to influence state politics, and it would also play a prominent role on the national stage. Beginning February 4, 1861, representatives from Alabama, Georgia , Florida, Louisiana , Mississippi , and South Carolina met in Montgomery , host of the Southern Convention , to form
6156-557: The South: to be allowed to vote and participate in politics, to freely use public places, to end segregation. According to the historian David Beito of the University of Alabama , African Americans in Montgomery "nurtured the modern civil rights movement ." African Americans comprised most of the customers on the city buses, but were forced to give up seats and even stand in order to make room for whites. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks
6270-415: The United States. The Montgomery Metropolitan Statistical Area 's population in 2022 was 385,460; it is the fourth largest in the state and 142nd among United States metropolitan areas . The city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River . It replaced Tuscaloosa as the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with
6384-457: The age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 41,380, and the median income for a family was $ 53,125. Males had a median income of $ 40,255 versus $ 33,552 for females. The per capita income for
6498-460: The area, considered the new IDB as a serious rival. After several years of political squabbling, the Chamber of Commerce emerged victorious. While McNally's IDB prompted the Chamber of Commerce to become more proactive in attracting new industry, the chamber effectively shut Mobile city government out of economic development decisions. In 1963, three African-American students brought a case against
6612-511: The area. Mobile is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is 168 miles (270 km) by highway southwest of Montgomery , the state capital; 58 miles (93 km) west of Pensacola, Florida ; and 144 miles (232 km) northeast of New Orleans . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 180.07 square miles (466.4 km ), with 139.48 square miles (361.3 km ) of it being land, and 40.59 square miles (105.1 km ), or 22.5% of
6726-480: The campus of Auburn University Montgomery on Taylor Road, and Jackson Hospital, which is located next to Oak Park off interstate 85. Montgomery is also home to two medical school campuses: Baptist Medical Center South (run by University of Alabama at Birmingham ) and Jackson Hospital (run by Alabama Medical Education Consortium). Montgomery operates under a Mayor–council government system. The mayor and council members are elected to four-year terms. The current mayor
6840-722: The capital to press for voting rights. These actions contributed to Congressional passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , to authorize federal supervision and enforcement of the rights of African Americans and other minorities to vote. On February 7, 1967, a devastating fire broke out at Dale's Penthouse, a restaurant and lounge on the top floor of the Walter Bragg Smith apartment building (now called Capital Towers) at 7 Clayton Street downtown. Twenty-six people died. In recent years, Montgomery has grown and diversified its economy. Active in downtown revitalization,
6954-432: The city adopted a master plan in 2007; it includes the revitalization of Court Square and the riverfront, renewing the city's connection to the river. Many other projects under construction include the revitalization of Historic Dexter Avenue, pedestrian and infrastructure improvements along the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail , and the construction of a new environmental park on West Fairview Avenue. Montgomery
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#17327717365107068-492: The city processed 160,000–200,000 bales of cotton annually. Montgomery has also had large metal fabrication and lumber production sectors. Due to its location along the Alabama River and extensive rail connections, Montgomery has been and continues to be a regional distribution hub for a wide range of industries. Since the late 20th century, it has diversified its economy, achieving increased employment in sectors such as healthcare, business, government, and manufacturing. Today,
7182-525: The city streetcars. It legislated what had been informal practice, enforced by convention. Mobile's African-American population responded to this with a two-month boycott, but the law was not repealed. After this, Mobile's de facto segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed Jim Crow laws to maintain supremacy . In 1911 the city adopted a commission form of government, which had three members elected by at-large voting. Considered to be progressive, as it would reduce
7296-431: The city suffered great loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an explosion at a federal ammunition depot on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a 30-foot (9 m) deep hole at the depot's location, and sank ships docked on the Mobile River; the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city. Federal Reconstruction in Mobile began after the Civil War and effectively ended in 1874 when
7410-405: The city was $ 23,139. About 18.2% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over. Montgomery's central location in Alabama's Black Belt has long made it a processing hub for commodity crops such as cotton, peanuts, and soybeans . In 1840 Montgomery County led the state in cotton production, and by 1911,
7524-666: The city's Gross Metropolitan Product is $ 12.15 billion, representing 8.7% of the gross state product of Alabama. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from October 2008, the largest sectors of non-agricultural employment were: Government, 24.3%; Trade, Transportation, and Utilities, 17.3% (including 11.0% in retail trade); Professional and Business Services, 11.9%; Manufacturing, 10.9%; Education and Health Services, 10.0% (including 8.5% in Health Care & Social Assistance); Leisure and Hospitality, 9.2%; Financial Activities, 6.0%, Natural Resources, Mining and Construction, 5.1%; Information, 1.4%; and Other services 4.0%. Unemployment for
7638-437: The city, there were 75 homicides in 2023. Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( / m oʊ ˈ b iː l / moh- BEEL , French: [mɔbil] ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama , United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 census . After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobile's population increased to 204,689 residents, making it
7752-410: The commercial development of Mobile. In 1766 the total population was estimated to be 860, though the town's borders were smaller than during the French colonial period. During the American Revolutionary War , West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for loyalists fleeing the other colonies. While the British were dealing with their rebellious colonists along the Atlantic coast, the Spanish entered
7866-405: The conclusion of the Creek War . Following their defeat by General Andrew Jackson in August 1814, the Creek tribes were forced to cede 23 million acres to the United States, including remaining land in today's Georgia and most of today's central and southern Alabama. In 1816, the Mississippi Territory (1798–1817) organized Montgomery County . Its former Creek lands were sold off the next year at
7980-451: The council than under the at-large system. Beginning in the late 1980s, newly elected mayor Mike Dow and the city council began an effort termed the "String of Pearls Initiative" to make Mobile into a competitive city. The city initiated construction of numerous new facilities and projects, and the restoration of hundreds of historic downtown buildings and homes. City and county leaders also made efforts to attract new business ventures to
8094-425: The growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast. In February 1861, Montgomery was chosen the first capital of the Confederate States of America , which it remained until the Confederate seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia , in May of that year. In the middle of the 20th century, Montgomery was a major center of events and protests in
8208-517: The head of Mobile Bay on the north-central Gulf Coast . The Port of Mobile has always played a key role in the economic health of the city, beginning with the settlement as an important trading center between the French colonists and Native Americans , down to its current role as the 12th-largest port in the United States . Mobile was founded in 1702 by the French as the first capital of Louisiana . During its first 100 years, Mobile
8322-605: The last snowfall had been nearly four years earlier, on January 27, 2014. Mobile is occasionally affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes. The city suffered a major natural disaster on the night of September 12, 1979, when category-3 Hurricane Frederic passed over the heart of the city. The storm caused tremendous damage to Mobile and the surrounding area. Mobile had moderate damage from Hurricane Opal on October 4, 1995, and Hurricane Ivan on September 16, 2004. Mobile suffered millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, which damaged much of
8436-442: The late 1940s, the transition to the postwar economy was hard for the city, as thousands of jobs were lost at the shipyards with the decline in the defense industry. Eventually the city's social structure began to become more liberal. Replacing shipbuilding as a primary economic force, the paper and chemical industries began to expand. No longer needed for defense, most of the old military bases were converted to civilian uses. Following
8550-399: The local Democrats gained control of the city government. The last quarter of the 19th century was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile. One example can be provided by the value of Mobile's exports during this period of depression. The value of exports leaving the city fell from $ 9 million in 1878 to $ 3 million in 1882. The turn of the 20th century brought
8664-574: The massive influx of workers coming to work in the shipyards and at the Brookley Army Air Field . Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into Mobile to work for war effort industries. Mobile was one of eighteen United States cities producing Liberty ships . Its Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the Axis powers could sink them. ADDSCO also churned out
8778-399: The most important industries. During this time, social justice and race relations in Mobile worsened, however. The state passed a new constitution in 1901 that disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites ; and the white Democratic-dominated legislature passed other discriminatory legislation. In 1902, the city government passed Mobile's first racial segregation ordinance, segregating
8892-512: The municipality and denied them city services. On February 12, 1945, a devastating and deadly tornado struck the western portion of the city. The tornado killed 26 people, injured 293 others, and caused a city-wide blackout which lasted for hours. The United States Weather Bureau would describe this tornado as "the most officially observed one in history". In the post-World War II era, returning African-American veterans were among those who became active in pushing to regain their civil rights in
9006-457: The occasion of the importation of the first African slaves , transported aboard a French supply ship from the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean , where they had first been held. The population of the colony fluctuated over the next few years, growing to 279 persons by 1708, yet shrinking to 178 persons two years later due to disease. These additional outbreaks of disease and
9120-615: The office of the Governor , the Alabama Legislature , and the Alabama Supreme Court . At the federal level, Montgomery is part of Alabama's 2nd , 7th , and 3rd Congressional district , currently represented by Barry Moore , Terri Sewell , and Mike Rogers , respectively. The 7th represents most of Western Montgomery, the 2nd Southern and Northern Montgomery, and the 3rd Eastern Montgomery. According to
9234-425: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic Whites were 36.1% of the population in 2010, down from 66% in 1970. The population density varies in different parts of the city; East Montgomery (Taylor Rd and East), the non-Hispanic White population is 74.5%, African American 8.3%, Latino 3.2%, other non-white races carry 2.7% of the population. The city population was spread out, with 24.9% under
9348-532: The power of ward bosses, this change resulted in the elite white majority strengthening its power, as only the majority could gain election of at-large candidates. In addition, poor whites and blacks had already been disenfranchised. Mobile was one of the last cities to retain this form of government, which prevented smaller groups from electing candidates of their choice. But Alabama's white yeomanry had historically favored single-member districts in order to elect candidates of their choice. The red imported fire ant
9462-503: The present-day eastern part of downtown. He envisioned a prominent future for his town; he set aside a hilltop known as "Goat Hill" as the future site of the state capitol building. New Philadelphia soon prospered, and Scott and his associates built a new town adjacent, calling it East Alabama Town. Originally rivals, the towns merged on December 3, 1819, and were incorporated as the town of Montgomery, named for Richard Montgomery , an American Revolutionary War general. Slave traders used
9576-710: The push for integration organized mob violence at stops along the Freedom Ride. In Montgomery, there was police collaboration when a white mob attacked Freedom Riders at the Greyhound Bus Station in May 1961. Outraged national reaction resulted in the enforcement of desegregation of interstate public transportation. Martin Luther King Jr. returned to Montgomery in 1965. Local civil rights leaders in Selma had been protesting Jim Crow laws and practices that raised barriers to blacks registering to vote. Following
9690-535: The same period was 5.7%, 2.5% higher than October 2007. The city also draws in workers from the surrounding area; Montgomery's daytime population rises 17.4% to 239,101. According to the city's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are: According to the Living Wage Calculator, the living wage for the city is US$ 19.73 per hour (or $ 41,038 per year) for an individual and $ 37.14 per hour ($ 77,251 per year) for
9804-585: The shipyards, although the Roosevelt administration had ordered defense contractors to integrate facilities. That year ADDSCO promoted 12 blacks to positions as welders, previously reserved for whites; and whites objected to the change by rioting on May 24. The mayor appealed to the governor to call in the National Guard to restore order, but it was weeks before officials allowed African Americans to return to work, keeping them away for their safety. In
9918-439: The shooting of a man after a civil rights rally, the leaders decided to march to Montgomery to petition Governor George Wallace to allow free voter registration. The violence they encountered from county and state highway police outraged the country. The federal government ordered National Guard and troops to protect the marchers. Thousands more joined the marchers on the way to Montgomery, and an estimated 25,000 marchers entered
10032-676: The southern bank of the Alabama River , about 6 miles (10 km) downstream from the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. The most prominent feature of Montgomery's skyline is the 375 ft (114 m), RSA Tower , built in 1996 by the Retirement Systems of Alabama . Other prominent buildings include 60 Commerce Street, 8 Commerce Street, and the RSA Dexter Avenue Building . Downtown also contains many state and local government buildings, including
10146-445: The summer months but occur throughout the year. Severe thunderstorms – producing large hail and damaging winds in addition to the usual hazards of lightning and heavy rain – can occasionally occur, particularly during the spring. Severe storms also bring a risk of tornadoes . Sometimes, tropical disturbances – some of which strike the Gulf Coast as hurricanes before losing intensity as they move inland – can bring very heavy rains. As of
10260-406: The team played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover, Alabama , where former basketball star Michael Jordan played with the team in 1994 . Since 2013, the team plays at Regions Field in the downtown part of Birmingham. As a result of Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Barons were organized into the eight-team Double-A South. In 2022,
10374-442: The time Mordecai arrived, Creek had migrated into and settled in the area, as they were moving away from Cherokee and Iroquois warfare to the north. Mordecai married a Creek woman. When her people had to cede most of their lands after the 1813-14 Creek War , she joined them in removal to Indian Territory. Mordecai brought the first cotton gin to Alabama. The Upper Creek were able to discourage most white immigration until after
10488-549: The tornado into Midtown , causing damage or destruction to at least 100 structures. The heaviest damage to houses was along Carlen Street, Rickarby Place, Dauphin Street, Old Shell Road , Margaret Street, Silverwood Street, and Springhill Avenue. The tornado caused significant damage to the Carmelite Monastery, Little Flower Catholic Church, commercial real estate along Airport Boulevard and Government Street in
10602-603: The total, being covered by water. The elevation in Mobile ranges from 10 feet (3 m) on Water Street in downtown to 211 feet (64 m) at the Mobile Regional Airport. Mobile has a number of notable historic neighborhoods. These include Ashland Place , Campground , Church Street East , De Tonti Square , Leinkauf , Lower Dauphin Street , Midtown , Oakleigh Garden , Old Dauphin Way , Spring Hill , and Toulminville . Mobile's geographical location on
10716-537: The upland plantation areas, but many households had domestic slaves, and many other slaves worked on the waterfront and on riverboats. The last slaves to enter the United States from the African trade were brought to Mobile on the slave ship Clotilda . Among them was Cudjoe Lewis , who in the 1920s became the last survivor of the slave trade. By 1853, fifty Jewish families lived in Mobile, including Philip Phillips , an attorney from Charleston, South Carolina , who
10830-473: The vicinity of the Mobile River , and its main tributaries the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers . A plantation economy using slave labor developed in the region and as a consequence Mobile's population quickly grew. It came to be settled by attorneys, cotton factors , doctors, merchants and other professionals seeking to capitalize on trade with the upriver areas. From the 1830s onward, Mobile expanded into
10944-404: The war in 1779 as an ally of France. They took the opportunity to order Bernardo de Galvez , Governor of Louisiana, on an expedition east to retake West Florida. He captured Mobile during the Battle of Fort Charlotte in 1780, as part of this campaign. The Spanish wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony west of the Mississippi River, which they had received from France in
11058-591: The war, in which many African Americans had served, veterans and their supporters stepped up activism to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights and social justice, especially in the Jim Crow South. During the 1950s the City of Mobile integrated its police force and Spring Hill College accepted students of all races. Unlike in the rest of the state, by the early 1960s the city buses and lunch counters voluntarily desegregated. The Alabama legislature passed
11172-469: The whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which 1,195 were free people of color . Additionally, 1,785 slave owners in the county held 11,376 people in bondage, about one-quarter of the total county population of 41,130 people. During the American Civil War , Mobile was a Confederate city. The H. L. Hunley , the first submarine to sink an enemy ship,
11286-464: Was a colony of France, then Great Britain , and lastly Spain . Mobile became a part of the United States in 1813, with the annexation by President James Madison of West Florida from Spain. During the American Civil War , the city surrendered to Federal forces on April 12, 1865, after Union victories at two forts protecting the city. This, along with the news of Johnston 's surrender negotiations with Sherman , led General Richard Taylor to seek
11400-587: Was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott . Martin Luther King Jr. , then the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church , and E.D. Nixon , a local civil rights advocate, founded the Montgomery Improvement Association to organize the boycott. In June 1956, the US District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled that Montgomery's bus racial segregation
11514-697: Was built in Colonial Revival architectural style from 1906 until the beginning of World War II. Surrounding ASU are the Garden District and Cloverdale Historic District . Houses in these areas date from around 1875 until 1949, and are in Late Victorian and Gothic Revival styles. Huntingdon College is on the southwestern edge of Cloverdale. The campus was built in the 1900s in Tudor Revival and Gothic Revival styles. ASU,
11628-478: Was built in Mobile. One of the most famous naval engagements of the war was the Battle of Mobile Bay , resulting in the Union taking control of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. On April 12, 1865, three days after Robert E. Lee 's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse , the city surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction after Union victories at nearby Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley . On May 25, 1865,
11742-654: Was challenged and finally overturned in 1982 in City of Mobile v. Bolden , which was remanded by the United States Supreme Court to the district court. Finding that the city had adopted a commission form of government in 1911 and at-large positions with discriminatory intent, the court proposed that the three members of the city commission should be elected from single-member districts , likely ending their division of executive functions among them. Mobile's state legislative delegation in 1985 finally enacted
11856-530: Was developed with wharves, terminal facilities, and fireproof brick warehouses. The exports of cotton grew in proportion to the amounts being produced in the Black Belt ; by 1840 Mobile was second only to New Orleans in cotton exports in the nation. With the economy so focused on one crop, Mobile's fortunes were always tied to those of cotton, and the city weathered many financial crises. Mobile slaveholders owned relatively few slaves compared to planters in
11970-667: Was elected to the Alabama State Legislature and then to the United States Congress. Many early Jewish families were descendants of Sephardic Jews who had been among the earliest colonial settlers in Charleston and Savannah. By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th-largest city in the United States and 4th-largest in what would soon be the Confederate States of America . The free population in
12084-506: Was first introduced into the United States via the Port of Mobile. Sometime in the late 1930s they came ashore off cargo ships arriving from South America. The ants were carried in the soil used as ballast on those ships. They have spread throughout the South and Southwest. During World War II , the defense buildup in Mobile shipyards resulted in a considerable increase in the city's white middle-class and working-class population, largely due to
12198-504: Was from New York City , which was deeply involved in the cotton industry. Mobile was the slave-trading center of the state until the 1850s, when it was surpassed by Montgomery . The prosperity stimulated a building boom that was underway by the mid-1830s, with the building of some of the most elaborate structures the city had seen up to that point. This was cut short in part by the Panic of 1837 and yellow fever epidemics. The waterfront
12312-500: Was host to the first formally organized Carnival mystic society to celebrate with a parade in the United States. (In New Orleans, such a group is called a krewe .) The city gained its name from the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living in the area of Mobile Bay . Although it is debated by Alabama historians, they may have been descendants of the Native American tribe whose small fortress town, Mabila ,
12426-467: Was moved in 1720 to Biloxi , leaving Mobile to serve as a regional military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began and it was renamed Fort Condé in honor of Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon . In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Seven Years' War , which Britain won, defeating France. By this treaty, France ceded its territories east of
12540-593: Was seized by United States General James Wilkinson during the War of 1812 . By the time Mobile was included in the Mississippi Territory in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The city was included in the Alabama Territory in 1817, after Mississippi gained statehood. Alabama was granted statehood in 1819; Mobile's population had increased to 809 by that time. Mobile
12654-454: Was the first French Catholic parish established on the Gulf Coast of the United States . In 1704, the ship Pélican delivered 23 Frenchwomen to the colony; passengers had contracted yellow fever at a stop in Havana . Though most of the " Pélican girls" recovered, numerous colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease in turn and many died. This early period was also
12768-604: Was unconstitutional. After the US Supreme Court upheld the ruling in November, the city desegregated the bus system, and the boycott was ended. In separate action, integrated teams of Freedom Riders rode South on interstate buses. In violation of federal law and the constitution, bus companies had for decades acceded to state laws and required passengers to occupy segregated seating in Southern states. Opponents of
12882-577: Was used to conceal several thousand native warriors before an attack in 1540 on the expedition of Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto . About seven years after the founding of the French Mobile settlement, the Mobile tribe, along with the Tohomé, gained permission from the colonists to settle near the fort. The European settlement of Mobile began with French colonists, who in 1702 constructed Fort Louis de la Louisiane , at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on
12996-559: Was well situated for trade, as its location tied it to a river system that served as the principal navigational access for most of Alabama and a large part of Mississippi. River transportation was aided by the introduction of steamboats in the early decades of the 19th century. By 1822, the city's population had risen to 2,800. The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain created shortages of cotton, driving up prices on world markets. Much land well suited to growing cotton lies in
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