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D−History
History · Spanish Fort

Spanish Fort was first counted by the census in 1970

Among the newest of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Spanish Fort was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1970.

1970first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Spanish Fort began

When was Spanish Fort founded?

1970

Spanish Fort first appears in the census in 1970.

First census: 2,364 in 19702020 census: 10,04956 years

How historic is Spanish Fort?

D−

Among the newest of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Spanish Fort’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Spanish Fort is among the newest of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Spanish Fort’s overall grade.
Founding era1970, from the first census: founded 1945 or later, an older era than 2% of U.S. townsD−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.4) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AL town 2.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the newest
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)#186 of 187

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Spanish Fort’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (26% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be D−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Spanish Fort’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19216 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1982. Watch Spanish Fort change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Spanish Fort’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Spanish Fort’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Spanish Fort on the map, 1921 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Spanish Fort. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Spanish Fort on the 1921 USGS mapSpanish Fort on the 1941 USGS mapSpanish Fort on the 1953 USGS mapSpanish Fort on the 1967 USGS mapSpanish Fort on the 1974 USGS mapSpanish Fort on the 1982 USGS map1921Fairhope sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Spanish Fort.

The story

How Spanish Fort came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Spanish Fort.

Read it all →

The city of Spanish Fort is rich in history dating as far back as 1702 with the founding of Mobile by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville of France. Spanish Fort was originally the site of a trading post established by French-occupied Mobile. One of the earliest known colonists that settled in present-day Spanish Fort was Louis Augustin Rochon, son of co-founder of Mobile Charles Rochon. Around 1750-1760, the younger Rochon founded a plantation on the bluffs overlooking the Blakeley River that became relatively wealthy. Following the French and Indian War, a large area on the Gulf Coast including the trading post was ceded to the British in 1763. During the Revolutionary War, Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez took Mobile in the Battle of Fort Charlotte. Consequentially, the entire Mobile Bay area came under military administration, albeit challenged by British forces based in Pens…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Spanish Fort, 1733 to 1992

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1733In the archiveApalacheeRegion1733
  3. 20th century
  4. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1992Born hereReese Dismukes is born here
By decade

Spanish Fort, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1730s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1730s1 item
ApalacheeRegion17331733ApalacheeRegion1733Document
Today21 recent
Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 32015Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 3Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 22015Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 2Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 12015Stink horn fungus in Spanish Fort, AL 15 Rivers Delta Resource Center20155 Rivers Delta Resource CenterSfhs front2013Sfhs frontHistoric Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw River in Alabama is very lush in the summertime2010Historic Blakeley State Park located on the Tensaw Ri…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major battle of the Civil War2010Historic Blakeley State Park, scene of the last major…The foliage is beautiful at Blakeley State Park2010The foliage is beautiful at Blakeley State ParkThe foliage is beautiful at Blakeley State Park2010The foliage is beautiful at Blakeley State Park
People over time

Spanish Fort, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00019802000202010,049

Grew from 2,364 people in 1970 to 10,049 in 2020, 4 times over.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Spanish Fort’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BridgeheadBuzbee Lane Mobile Home ParkFort McDermott
Gone or out of use
HolyokelocaleRed FortmilitaryWoods Milllocale
1cemetery inside Spanish Fort
Wilson

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Daphne9 historic placesB+Loxley2 historic placesB−Mobile115 historic placesAStapletonIts storyD−

Questions about Spanish Fort’s history

What year was Spanish Fort founded?

The Spanish Fort post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1712.

How does Spanish Fort rank for history?

Spanish Fort is among the newest of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Spanish Fort?

0.0% of Spanish Fort’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1999.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (16), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.