Historic Blakeley State Park

34745 State Hwy. 225/ P.O. Box 7279
Spanish Fort, Al. 36577

Phone (251) 626-0798

Explore Historic Blakeley State Park.

Enjoy the information and brief visual preview here on this web site. Then come to the Park itself and experience this unique historic and nature park.

Nowhere else will you experience such a rare and compatible combination of multiple historic sites nestled in pristine woodlands along the Tensaw River.

Overnight in either our modern RV Apalachee Campground with full utility hookups or in the Harper Campground for tents and pop-ups. See “Camping” for more information and rates.

Tour the preserved Civil War battlefield with its Confederate and Union breastworks and fortifications. Walk or bike on miles of trails and roadways.

Learn about the fascinating animal and plant life in the Tensaw-Mobile River Delta on one of the park's regular two-hour eco-tours aboard its boat, the Delta Explorer. (See Delta Explorer for details.)

The annual Blakeley Bluegrass Festival the first Saturday of October, regular Civil War demonstrations and other special events are scheduled throughout the year.

History

The Town of Blakeley is the oldest continuous town in Baldwin County and one of the oldest towns in the State of Alabama. Chartered in 1814 by the Mississippi Territory; re-chartered in 1818 by the Alabama Territory; and, chartered once more by the State of Alabama in approximately 1820… this municipality is still in existence today. 

Blakeley reached its zenith in the 1820’s when its population hovered around 4,000, larger than its competitor city of Mobile across the bay. There were hotels, stores, churches, blacksmith shops, majestic homes, and the first Courthouse of present day Baldwin County settled beautifully down by the Tensaw River…..a bustling seaport town.

Today, the land has been reclaimed by nature. Not a brick, nor plank of wood remains. Not a sign of human habitation. 400 year old oak trees grace the boulevards that used to be. The horned owl hoots through the silence. There is nothing there to indicate that Blakeley was once a major player on the Alabama scene. It is considered by many to be “the South’s loveliest ghost town.”

Settled by Josiah Blakeley and others from New England in 1814, the streets and lots were laid out in such fashion with avenues named after Presidents and streets named fruit trees. The Blakeley Sun, published and printed down in the town, was one of Alabama’s earliest newspapers. 

Blakeley was a prosperous and thriving entity. However, as often happens, the tide turned and by 1830 Blakeley’s physical status began to ebb. Yellow fever epidemics and rampant land speculation turned the population movement towards Mobile.

With less than one hundred inhabitants Blakeley slowly began to die out. She was temporarily resurrected again during the Civil War years and was transformed into Fort Blakely (spelled this way during the Civil War years) housing an army camp of upwards to 4,000 soldiers. 

Her last day of the war saw a contingent of 20,000 men fighting the last major battle of the War Between the States. After 1865 Blakeley was no more. The land stood idle for better than 100 years until Historic Blakeley State Park was created in 1981.

In 1995 Blakeley was added to the Civil War Discovery Trail that links more than 300 sites in 16 states to inspire and to teach the story of the Civil War and its haunting impact on America.

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