Tom McGehee
Sugar Sweet Satsumas
Mobile and Baldwin counties were a buckle on the “Satsuma Belt.” The Japanese Mandarin satsuma was introduced to the United States in 1876, and within two years,...
Ask McGehee: What is the history of Catholic Cemetery out in Toulminville?
Mobile’s original Catholic Cemetery or “Campo Santo” (Sacred Ground) was in the area now called Cathedral Square, a space stretching west from today’s Saenger Theatre to the...
Ask McGehee: My grandparents often recalled going down to Coden to have Sunday lunch...
In 1907, cotton broker John Rolston built the Rolston Hotel on 30 acres of land overlooking Portersville Bay. His family home, like so many others, ...
Ask McGehee: Did evangelist Billy Sunday ever visit Mobile?
In January of 1927, Billy Sunday arrived at Mobile’s Cawthon Hotel with his wife and a half dozen staff members to conduct a heavily promoted six-week revival....
Ask McGehee: My great-grandparents were married at Mobile’s First German Evangelical Church in 1907....
In December of 1867, a group of local German immigrants purchased property on the north side of St. Francis Street, between Warren and Dearborn streets, ...
Ask McGehee: What is the history of the vacant Van Antwerp Building?
Ground was broken for Mobile’s Van Antwerp Building in 1906. Druggist Garrett Van Antwerp (1833 - 1911) had been in business on the southwest corner of Dauphin and...
Ask McGehee: What is the history of the median on Spring Hill Avenue?
There has been a median on Spring Hill Avenue since at least 1860 when Col. Lorenzo Madison Wilson incorporated the Mobile and Spring Hill Railroad. Wilson, who...
Ask McGehee: Was there ever a fort at Spanish Fort?
The Baldwin County community draws its name from an actual fort, which was built by Spanish troops in a classic European design in 1780. It was planned...
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Ask McGehee: What is the story behind that Egyptian temple downtown?
What Mobilians have most recently called “The Temple Downtown” is currently an event venue but was created as Mobile’s Scottish Rite Cathedral, left, in 1921. Masonic...
Ask McGehee: Who was Sidney McCall?
Over its long history, Mobile has established a reputation for producing talented and successful writers. As the 19th century progressed, there was Octavia LeVert, with...
