Dauphin Island is located in the Gulf Coast in Mobile County. This barrier island is fourteen miles long and less than two miles wide. It was first explored by the Spanish in 1599, but no real settlement came to the area until the French nearly 100 years later.
The Spanish first named the island Massacre Island due to the large mound of human remains found on the island in 1599. The name was later changed to Dauphin Island in honor of a member of the French royal family.
Dauphin Island had a valuable harbor called Pelican Harborthat completely destroyed by the hurricane of 1717. The destruction changed the landscape of the island.
In 1711, pirates destroyed all the buildings on the island, robbing colonists of the goods in their homes and warehouses. No lives were lost.
The Confederate army took control of Fort Gaines in 1861, using it for their advantage in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
This square was created in honor of the Governor Cadillac who also established the city of Detroit. Cadillac was the governor of the entire Louisiana territory.
- Dauphin Island
- Old Mobile by Jay Higgenbotham
- Monica Patrick