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Africatown

1860 establishments in AlabamaAfrican-American cultural historyAfrican-American history in Mobile, AlabamaAfrican American Heritage Trail of MobileBeninese-American history
Ghanaian-American historyHistoric districts in Mobile, AlabamaHistory of Mobile, AlabamaHistory of slavery in AlabamaNRHP infobox with nocatNigerian-American historyPopulated places in Alabama established by African AmericansTogolese-American historyUse mdy dates from October 2020Yoruba-American history
Welcome to Africatown (cropped)
Welcome to Africatown (cropped)

Africatown, also known as AfricaTown USA and Plateau, is a historic community located three miles (5 km) north of downtown Mobile, Alabama. It was formed by a group of 32 West Africans, who in 1860 were bought and transported against their will in the last known illegal shipment of slaves to the United States. The Atlantic slave trade had been banned since 1808, but 110 slaves held by the Kingdom of Dahomey were smuggled into Mobile on the Clotilda, which was burned and scuttled to try to conceal its illicit cargo. More than 30 of these people, believed to be ethnic Yoruba, Ewe, and Fon, founded and created their own community in what became Africatown. They retained their West African customs and language into the 1950s, while their children and some elders also learned English. Cudjo Kazoola Lewis, a founder of Africatown, lived until 1935 and was long thought to be the last survivor of the slaves from the Clotilda living in Africatown.In 2019, scholar Hannah Durkin from Newcastle University documented Redoshi, a West African woman who was believed at the time to be the last survivor of slaves from the Clotilda. Also known as Sally Smith, she lived to 1937. She had been sold to a planter who lived in Dallas County, Alabama. Redoshi and her family continued to live there after emancipation, working on the same plantation. Durkin later published research indicating that another slave, Matilda McCrear, in fact outlived Smith, dying in 1940.The population of Africatown has declined markedly from a peak population of 12,000 in the 20th century, when paper mills operated there. In the early 21st century, the community has about 2,000 residents. It is estimated 100 of them are descendants of the people from the Clotilda. Other descendants live across the country. In 2009, the neighborhood was designated as a site on Mobile's African American Heritage Trail. The Africatown Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Its related Old Plateau Cemetery, also known as Africatown Graveyard, was founded in 1876. It has been given a large historical plaque telling its history.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Africatown (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Africatown
Cochrane Bridge, Mobile

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Latitude Longitude
N 30.735277777778 ° E -88.058611111111 °
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Africatown Historical District

Cochrane Bridge
36652 Mobile
Alabama, United States
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Welcome to Africatown (cropped)
Welcome to Africatown (cropped)
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Port of Mobile
Port of Mobile

The Port of Mobile is a deep-water port in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the only deep-water port in Alabama. It was ranked by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as the 9th largest port by tonnage in the nation during 2014, with a trade volume of 64.3 million tons. This ranking had increased from 12th largest during 2010, with a trade volume of 55,713,273 tons, an increase of 19.1%. The port is located along the Mobile River where it empties into Mobile Bay. The Port of Mobile has public, deepwater terminals with direct access to 1,500 miles of inland and intracoastal waterways serving the Great Lakes, the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys (via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway), and the Gulf of Mexico. The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates the public terminals at the Port of Mobile. The public terminals handle containerized, bulk, break bulk, roll-on/roll-off, and heavy lift cargoes. The port is also home to private bulk terminal operators. The container, general cargo and bulk facilities have immediate access to two interstate systems and five Class I railroads. Additionally, the CG Railway operates from the port as a rail ferry service to Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, in Mexico.The Port of Mobile is the largest break bulk forest products port in the United States, and the Alabama State Port Authority's McDuffie Terminal is one of the largest coal terminals in the United States and largest import coal terminal. The port was the fourth largest exporter of coal during 2012, with the majority exported for metallurgical processes. The largest shares of coal exports from Mobile went to Europe and South America.The Alabama State Port Authority announced in 2010 that $360 million would be spent over the following five years to improve infrastructure at the port. Improvements included land acquisition, new rail and inter-modal yards, cargo terminal improvements and enhancements to improve servicing of deep-water oil and gas field vessels and equipment Since 2000, the Port Authority has undergone nearly $500 million in capital improvements and expansion projects to serve containerized, bulk and break bulk commodities. Improvements include a new rail ferry terminal, a steel terminal to service the $4.6 billion steel facility in Calvert, Alabama, new warehousing, a new container terminal, and expansions at the McDuffie Coal Terminal. The Port of Mobile had an estimated statewide economic impact approaching $8 billion annually in 2010.In 2022, a statue of retiring U.S. Senator Richard Shelby was unveiled at the port. As a senator, Shelby steered millions of dollars in federal money to the port for dredging and widening.