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...
The First and Last Picture Show
Nearly 90 years ago, a young, idealistic lawyer realized his dream of opening a theater. Some may have considered the enterprise an optimist’s folly. After all,...
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, ...
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Learning Curves
Today, Mobile boasts the state’s largest school district, and in fact, it was the first public education system in Alabama. Since its beginnings, it...
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The Test Dive
The H.L. Hunley is famous as the first submarine in history to successfully sink an enemy warship. The attack took place off Charleston harbor in February 1864. ...
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....
Let the Record Show
Joe Gilchrist bought the Flora-Bama exactly 35 spring breaks ago, which seems like the most fitting way to measure time here on the Alabama-Florida line. This location used to...
Street Smarts
“With the exception of Cuba, Dauphin is, historically, the most prominent and interesting island in the Gulf of Mexico.” So wrote Richebourg Gaillard McWilliams, former...
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, ...
The Baldwin County Brain Game
1) Baldwin County’s namesake, Abraham Baldwin, founded what SEC school? 2) Where did Daphne get its name? 3) What was the last major Coast...