Daphne, the Jubilee City on the Eastern Shore

I love Baldwin County, AL!  Tom and I lived in Spanish Fort for a few years in the mid-1980's before moving for a short time back to Monroeville where we grew up.  After a couple of years, we were drawn to South Baldwin County where we've lived for the last 35 years or so.  While we talk a lot about Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Foley (where we raised our children), we still love the Eastern Shore!

Daphne is situated right in the middle and has easy access to both Fairhope and Spanish Fort.  When I first think of Daphne, I think of all of the live oak trees and shady trails to Mobile Bay, but when most people think of Daphne, they think of it as the "Jubilee City".  I don't know the why's or how's, but I do know that Daphne is one of those lucky few places that experiences nature's jubilee from time to time.  A Jubilee is an incredible time where crab, shrimp, and flounder come to the top of the water and are easily scooped up. 

While that is probably why Daphne is most well-known, only a relatively few people have ever seen or experienced a Jubilee.  Unless you live on the water or have a close friend that does, you may not even known when a Jubilee happens. I've seen this only once. It was amazing, and I'll never forget it!  

Daphne has a heritage that goes beyond the Jubilee.  I love AL history, so I been fascinated by some of the tales I've heard.  My friend Harriet Outlaw, who is a local author and history buff herself, told me about how Daphne was originally the county seat of Baldwin County. 

According to stories, some citizens in north Baldwin County thought Bay Minette would be a more centralized location for the county seat, so a group of folks  devised a plan to covertly move the county records from Daphne to Bay Minette.  They created a diversion to distract the Daphne sheriff and his deputies, then in the dark of night, seized the county records and quickly carted them to Bay Minette, which became the official county seat.  

Isn't that a great story!? 

Of course, there's more to share, but I'll do that next time.

I am a  REALTOR ® serving the communities all along the Alabama/Florida Gulf Coast  for 20+ years--Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Magnolia Springs, Fairhope, Daphne, Spanish Fort, Elberta, Lillian, Robertsdale, Summerdale, Silverhill and Bay Minette, AL and Perdido Key and Pensacola, FL.   I specialize in single family residential properties, luxury properties, estate properties, and helping seniors with their real estate needs.