Fort Louis de la Louisiane: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:16, 16 August 2026

See also Fort Louis
More information at Wikidata,Wikipedia
Fort Louis de la Louisiane (1702-1711) - A Fench colonial fort established in 1702 by the colonial governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff in present-day Mobile County, Alabama. The fort and the adjacent city became the capital of French Louisiana. Named for the French King, Louis XIV. Moved to Mobile in 1711.

Old Mobile Site Marker.
Old Mobile 1704-1705 Map.

History

Fort Louis de la Louisiane was a square fort with bastions on the corners, each equipped with a battery of six cannons. The fort buildings included quarters for soldiers and officers, a chapel, and a warehouse. Bienville maintained his quarters inside the fort. The fort was surrounded by a log palisade. The village outside the fort was laid out in a grid pattern behind the fort and served a population of some 180 men and 27 families by 1704.

Frequent flooding made life difficult for the colonists and a massive flood in the spring of 1711 forced the residents to seek safety in treetops and kept the houses under water for nearly a month. It was decided to move the town and fort to a location downriver at present-day Mobile. The relocation was completed by mid-1712 and the structures were burned down to prevent use by others.

Current Status

Archeological site and Marker near the Mobile River, Le Moyne in Mobile County, Alabama. Access to the site is blocked by a series of gated private roads and it was not possible to locate the 1902 marker.

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Location: Near Le Moyne in Mobile County, Alabama.
Lat: 30.967° Long: -87.992° Elevation: 7' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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Sources:

Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 2-3

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