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Hometown Fairhope |
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Hometown Fairhope |
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Fairhope has long been a quaint and idyllic retreat. "Quaint" is a hard adjective to maintain. Towns rarely stay the same. They are growing or dying but rarely static. This love affair we have with out towns, this sense of place, of home, of beauty, of history, and of family ignites in us the desire to fight all change--to keep things the same. That, though, cannot be done. Instead, we must decide what the face of Fairhope will be going forward and move toward that, because we cannot help but move.
Perhaps, then, it is for this reason that I created Hometown Fairhope. It gives us a look back. We can see the way Fairhope was a hundred years ago, and we can watch it transform before our eyes. It is nostalgic, but it is also a reminder that we do not truly want to freeze a moment in time in any other way than as shadows on paper. Life is more than any one moment, so is a town, and, thus, so is Fairhope. We do not live in the Fairhope of a hundred years ago, nor in her incarnation just fifty years past. Those who did live then have given us the treasure of what Fairhope is today, and now we must decide what will be the Fairhope we hand to our children.
Historic Fairhope Photography
FAIRHOPE HISTORY: The history of Fairhope is the real-world application of the ideas of Henry George; Fairhope, it might be said, gave history to the abstract. George advocated no taxes other than a single land tax, and this is the history and heart behind the Fairhope Single Tax colony. The founders searched for land throughout the South and Midwest before history and fate settled Fairhope on the high bluffs along the Mobile Bay. Famously, one of these founders supposed they had "a fair hope of success", and thus the town that would give a landed history to the philosophy of Henry George, was given its name.
A short history of Fairhope: The Single-Tax Colonists made history by coming to the area in 1894. The history of the city of Fairhope began in 1908 when it was founded with approximately 500 people. In the 1930's, the city took responsibility for the parks and other public grounds that have been such a vital part to the history and charm of Fairhope. In the 1970's, initiatives by Mayor Nix helped steer Fairhope from the rummage heap of history by revitalizing what was a dying downtown. Today, Fairhope history lives on in the dream of a single tax, a resort community that few want to leave, and the flowering jewel of the Eastern Shore.
This site is sponsored by:
24390 Highway 98, #1
Fairhope, AL 36532
Baldwin County Real Estate
Sharing a love of history, home, and Fairhope.
Once upon a time, in the history of Fairhope, the most direct route from Mobile was by Ferry. Passengers would disembark at one of a few long piers along the Eastern Shore, including the Fairhope pier. In this photograph, notice the sign for the "Fairhope Casino" advertising music, dancing, and bathing. You can see, too, the tracks leading down the pier and a parking lot full of, I presume, Model T Fords.
HometownFairhope.com
Hometown Fairhope is a repository of historic Fairhope photography and a forum for local discussion. Fairhope is located along the Mobile Bay's Eastern Shore in Baldwin County, Alabama. Unless otherwise noted, the photography comes courtesy of Fairhope Single Tax Corporation. Merchandise is made available through Cafepress. The site itself is sponsored by your local Fairhope Realtor, Wade Ogletree, of Century 21, Professional Services. Feel free to contact him for your questions about Fairhope Real Estate or Real Estate anywhere along the coast. Use his toll-free number 1-877-Fairhope, or call him locally at (251) 404-0016. You can find him online at hometownbaldwin.com.
In
the early days of Fairhope's history, most people arrived via
ferry. That is a ferry on the logo.