The Site of Historic Fort Condé

The Site of Historic Fort Condé. . Patterned after forts designed by French military engineer Sebastian Le Pestre de Vauban, Fort Condé protected Mobile and its citizens for nearly 100 years from 1723-1820. Built by the French as a defense against British and Spanish attack, the strategic location of Mobile Bay guarded the eastern-most part of the Louisiana colony. Founded in 1702 at the 27-Mile Bluff site on Mobile River, the settlement was relocated in 1711 to the site on which you stand. A wooden fort was constructed and named Fort Louis after the first fort at the 27-Mile Bluff location, which itself had been named in honor of King Louis XIV of France. In 1723, construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began. This fort replaced the wooden one that by this time had begun to rot. Local architect Valentin Devin received the rank of engineer and was hired to oversee construction. Twenty black slaves and five white workmen labored on the initial construction of the fort. However, lack of funds and labor delayed the project’s completion until the mid 1730s. Renamed Fort Condé in honor of King Louis’s brother, the fort covered about 11 acres of land. It was built of local brick, stone and cedar wood. The interior structures were made of timber frames filled with a mixture of clay and Spanish moss, horsehair, or other fiber., From 1763 to 1780, England occupied Mobile, and the fort received the name Fort Charlotte in honor of King George III’s wife. From 1780 to 1813, Spain controlled Mobile and the fort was renamed Fort Carlota. The United States seized Mobile in 1813 and again named the structure Fort Charlotte. By 1820, the fort was no longer needed for defense and Congress authorized its demolition to make way for new streets and buildings toward the river and southward., The current Fort Condé is about 1/3 of the original fort structure recreated in 4/5-scale. It opened July 4, 1976 as part of Mobile’s United States bicentennial celebration.