History

Published May 2026 The short version: For more than three centuries, the story of the Pelican Girls of Mobile sat almost entirely unmarked in the city they helped save. In late 2025, that finally changed. Bella Myers, a tour guide with Bienville Bites, partnered with Dr. Allison Henry to research, write, and advocate for…

Updated May 2026 On September 11, 2010, a man from Hoover, Alabama named Ken Orndoff sat down at the oyster bar inside Wintzell’s Oyster House on Dauphin Street and ate 421 raw oysters in thirty-four minutes. His name is still on the wall. That’s the kind of place Wintzell’s is. The kind of place where…

Updated May 2026 The three things to know before you go: Mardi Gras started in Mobile in 1703, fifteen years before New Orleans existed. The modern shipping container was invented here. And you can walk the entire historic downtown in an afternoon. Mobile rewards visitors who know where to look, and after years…

Updated May 2026 The short version: Most visitors to Mobile see the USS Alabama, walk Dauphin Street, and head home. They miss the best parts. These ten spots are the ones I point out on the tour that make people stop and say, “I had no idea.” Some are hiding in plain sight downtown;…

Updated May 2026 Mobile was founded in 1702, which makes its downtown one of the oldest in America, older than New Orleans, older than the United States itself. You can walk the heart of it in an afternoon, and almost every building you pass has a story. This is a self-guided walk through that history,…

Updated May 2026 Quick fact: Alabama’s food didn’t come from cookbooks. It came from the Gulf, the cotton fields, the enslaved cooks, the Native peoples, and three centuries of French, Spanish, and British rule all layering on top of each other. Taste these dishes in the right places in Mobile, and you’re tasting history….

Updated May 2026 The short version: Each year, fifty high school senior girls from Mobile County are selected as Azalea Trail Maids, the official hostesses of Mobile, Alabama. The selection process is competitive and centers on a high-stakes interview where candidates are judged on poise, communication, and their knowledge of the city they would…

By: Marissa Deal   New York and Chicago drop a ball. Atlanta is slightly more creative. They lower a peach. But when wandering the streets of Mobile (hopefully on a Bienville Bites tour) be sure to look up – 34 stories up to be exact – to the top of the RSA Trustmark Building and…

Updated May 2026 The short version: The A&M Peanut Shop sits on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile, where a roaster from the late 1800s has been turning out fresh peanuts since 1947. Originally a Planters franchise, it became a family business when Alfred Gibson bought it in 1963 and named it for himself…

On the latest Port City Plate Podcast, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Stephenie Funaro, the new owner of The Cheese Cottage in Mobile, Alabama. The Cheese Cottage is one of the cherished stops on our Old Mobile Evening Tour, and we’re thrilled to share our conversation about the delightful fusion of tradition…