January 20, 1702

French colonists established Fort Louis de la Louisiane on a bluff 27 miles north of present-day Mobile. Established by Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville from his base at Fort Maurepas, the colony was placed under the leadership of his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville as one of a series of fortifications meant to protect French territory in the Mississippi Valley. Fort Louis became the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana and served as the capital until 1711, when it relocated to Fort Conde in present-day Mobile. In 1976, Fort Louis was added to the National Register of Historic Places and, in 2001, was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Known as the founder and first governor of the French colony of La Louisianne, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville et d’Ardillieres (1661-1706) was a French military leader in the struggles between France and England over control of North America. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

This 1725 map depicts the original colonial-era size and location of Fort Condé in the town of in Mobile when it was controlled by France. The top drawing shows the fort in profile. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

Bartizan at Fort Condé in Mobile, 2008. (Altairisfar, Wikipedia)

Skyline of Mobile, as seen from Fort Condé. (Altairisfar, Wikipedia)

Museum exhibition at Fort Condé, Mobile. The exhibition features a partially recreated well that had been excavated at the site in the 1960s. Artifacts from the excavations are on display. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the History Museum of Mobile)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.