Fort Conde by PA2AKgirl
Not enough people visit Fort Conde...and I don't understand it. Perhaps because it's downtown and a lot of people don't visit Mobile for recreation or historical reasons. (WHY NOT?!?!) I do understand that if you're thinking of a Fort in the deep south, you probably will first think of the civil war. Fort Conde has NOTHING to do with the civil war. Mobile's history is so interesting--first it was owned by the French, then the British and then the Spanish (then Americans, Republic of Alabama, the Confederacy and again, the Americans) But I'll talk more about that in a general tip. Anyway, Fort Conde, the one that is there now, is a replica of an 18th century fort right in downtown. You can take tours of it--people are dressed in period costumes and will certainly learn a lot about the area through the different occupations. They are open every day from 8-5 with the exception of major holidays and of course, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) If you want a specific tour time, call the number below.
Around here you can get carriage and trolley tours of the city as well.
This picture makes me laugh. We were down at Fort Conde on Dec 12, 2004 and apparently it wasn't busy b/c this soldier was talking on his cell phone. "Okay, the traffic is light on Interstate 10 right now, might want to get the troops in place and move them on in before Monday rush hour" It's just so funny to see an 18th century soldier on a cell phone!