Hometown Tour: Bayou La Batre Hurricanes

Alabama Mobile Remember the 1906 Hurricane? What about the 1916 Hurricane? Those two storms shaped Bayou La Batre.

by Jene' Young

Published: Thu, May 07, 2009 - 2:30 pm CST Last Updated: Tue, May 12, 2009 - 12:41 pm CST

History is rich across the Gulf Coast and Bayou La Batre is no exception. Founded in the late 1700s, Bayou La Batre became a resort town by the early 1900s according to Amanda Kay Howell, the historian for the Bayou La Batre/Coden Historical Foundation. Howell says a train would bring vacationers down for the weekend. This all ended around the time the 1916 Hurricane came ashore.

In 1906, 1916, and 1926, there were three major hurricanes, category three strength or higher, according to the National Weather Service. Here is a look at Mobile's Hurricane History.

Howell says the 1906 Hurricane knocked down large trees and destroyed homes, but, "the 1916 storm really did finish it off."

After those two hurricanes came ashore, it took a while for the Bayou to recover. Howell said that anytime there was a hurricane, the only way Bayou La Batre recovered was through fishing. It's no wonder that Bayou La Batre is known as the 'Seafood Capital of Alabama.'

She says even today, post Katrina, locals return to this fishing town because there is something that, "draws you here, it's in your genes."

Besides weather history Howell talks about local legends. She said there was as an Indian Princess that smashed windows, then fed the glass to an alligator. She also says Joe Cain was first buried at Odd Fellows Cemetary. His remains were taken from this burial site to the Church Street Cemetery in Mobile.

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