History Tour – Gulf Coast Region

The Gulf Coast region presents a world of wonder to students of all ages. This region’s diverse resources of forts, antebellum mansions, and history provide them with a wealth of knowledge and fun as they explore.

Day 1

Begin your tour on Dauphin Island with a visit to The Estuarium, an Aquarium at The Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama’s Marine science education and research laboratory. Then visit Historic Fort Gaines, a pre-Civil War fort.

Depart for Mobile, one of the oldest cites in the nation. Tour the Museum of Mobile. This National Historic Landmark, built in 1857, contains the rich history of Native Americans, as well as the Colonial, African-American and antebellum influences on the 300-year-old city. Have lunch and enjoy an educational experience at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, one of America’s warships which served as home to 2,500 brave Navy seamen and Marines during World War II.

Depart for the Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center and IMAX Dome Theater, a hands-on museum filled with more than 100 science exhibits. Overnight in the area.

Day 2

After breakfast, depart for Fort Conde, where your group will step back in time to Mobile’s colonial days. Next, visit Oakleigh Historic Complex. Depart for Magee Farm, the site of the last Confederate surrender east of Mississippi. Before departing Mobile, take a scenic tour of beautiful Alabama wetlands offered by Wildland Expeditions, or visit the 5 Rivers Delta Center to learn about the species that call Mobile’s Delta region home.

Travel to Spanish Fort to visit Historic Blakeley State Park, the site of a last major battle during the Civil War. Depart for St. Stephens to visit St. Stephens Historical Park, site of Alabama’s first capitol.

Depart for Monroeville, Alabama’s literary capital and home to such writers as Harper Lee and Truman Capote. Celebrate the town’s heritage each spring with productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird” at the Old Courthouse. Before departing Monroeville, travel back 60 million years ago to see fossils from the Claiborne bluff at the Alabama River Heritage Museum. Overnight in the area.

Attractions

Oakleigh Historic Complex (251) 432.6161
Three museums on one beautiful site. Oakleigh is a beautiful Greek revival home and is Mobile’s official antebellum museum. Cox-Deasy, circa 1850, is a Creole cottage. Also on site is the Mardi Gras Cottage with a 19th- and early 20th-century collection.

Accomodations