Central Business District in Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
The Kennedy-Cox House ⎯⎯⎯ Joshua Kennedy Jr.
Built 1857-Restored 2019
Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, July 9, 2025
1. The Kennedy-Cox House Marker
Inscription.
The Kennedy-Cox House was built in 1857 by Joshua Kennedy Jr., whose family arrived here in 1805 and is credited with helping establish Mobile as a commercial shipping center. The Architectural design is a unique transition between the Greek Revival and the Italianate styles. It features the only surviving portico on Government Street from the city's first "golden age" (1830-1862). The house remained in the family until 1923 when it was converted to the Seaman's Bethel, a refuge for visiting sailors, which lasted unitl the end of World War II. In 1948 it began a 69-year history as the Lamar Y. McLeod American Post 3, one of the two oldest posts in Alabama. The post is named for Captain Lamar Y. McLeod, a resident of Mobile, who was presented the Distinguished Service Cross (posthumously) for extraordinary heroism in action near St. Juvin, France, on October 11, 1918. The property was acquired in 2017 by the 1857 Foundation, Inc. and thanks in part to a generous gift by the Eugene Cox family, a full restoration was completed in 2019.
(Reverse Side)
The builder of this magnificent home was 27-year-old Joshua Kennedy Jr.,
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a graduate of William College in Massachusetts and a successful wholesale grocer. The Kennedys settled in Mobile in 1805. By the time of his death in 1838, Joshua Kennedy, Sr. was considered one of the richest men in Alabama. In 1811, the family built and operated one of the oldest sawmills in Alabama near Stockton through the 1820's. In the spring of 1853 Joshua Kennedy Jr. married Mary Emanuel, whose British-born father was one of the city's weathiest merchants. At the start of the Civil War, Kennedy enlisted with the Confederate army. While serving in Company H of the 8th Alabama Infantry, First Lieutenant Kennedy was killed during the battle of Seven Pines in Virginia in 1863. He was 33 years old. This ultimately became the home of Mary Emanuel Kennedy's sister, Virginia Mitchell, whose heirs sold it to the Seaman's Bethel in 1923.
Erected 2021 by Alabama Historical Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is October 11, 1918.
Location. 30° 41.248′ N, 88° 2.962′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. It is in
Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, July 9, 2025
2. Joshua Kennedy jr. Marker
the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of Government Street (U.S. 98) and S Dearborn Street, on the left when traveling west on Government Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mobile AL 36602, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and in the Mobile Bay area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 2, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 283 times since then and 143 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 2, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
