Old Mobile Site and the Founding of French Mobile

Old Mobile was the first capital of French Louisiana. French colonists built a small wooden fort, Fort Louis de la Louisiane, at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River in 1702, and most early colonists called the settlement La Mobile [2]. After floods, crop losses and cattle shortages, the colony moved downriver in 1711 to the site of present-day Mobile. This entry explains why the French came, how the settlement worked and how Mobile fits into the larger story of French Louisiana.

Why the French came

French explorers wanted to claim the Gulf coast before Spain or England. Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville’s four ships anchored off Mobile Point on January 31, 1699, and the island he explored was named Île du Massacre because sixty human skeletons were found there. In December 1701 he ordered the colony to move to the island, now called Dauphin Island, and his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville carried out the move in January 1702 [1][2].

The first fort

The French built a small wooden fort at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, north of the bay on the Mobile River. Most colonists called the place La Mobile. The settlement was a military outpost and trading post. It depended on food, labor and guidance from Native neighbors, and on supplies from France that often arrived late [2].

The 1711 move

Floods, crop failures and a shortage of cattle pushed the colonists to relocate. By summer 1711 they had moved to a place called the Oignonets, present-day Mobile, and built a new Fort Louis de la Louisiane. Mobile became the capital of Louisiana but struggled to grow in its early decades, and the capital moved to New Orleans in late 1721 [2].

People and population

The 1704 census recorded 180 soldiers and 27 families, or roughly 70 people. By 1760 about 300 people lived outside the fort. About 200 Africans were brought to the colony in spring 1719, and the Code Noir was introduced in 1724. The ship La Pélican, which was to bring unmarried women to the colony, was delayed until 1704 [2].

Forts and alliances

French influence reached inland through forts and trade. In 1717 Lieutenant Vitral de la Tour arrived with twenty men to build Fort Toulouse near the junction of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, using Alabama labor, as described in Alabama and Koasati (Coushatta) Peoples and Languages. In 1735, the Swiss officer Joseph Christophe de Lusser was sent to build Fort Tombecbe on the Tombigbee River [2].

End of French Alabama

The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the French and Indian War. France lost its American colonies, and French Alabama became British. Mobile later came under Spanish control, as covered in Spanish West Florida [1][2].

Mobile today

The city of Mobile traces its roots to the 1702 French settlement and is Alabama’s oldest city. The Encyclopedia of Alabama notes its role as a major port and its place in the history of Mardi Gras in the United States [3]. For the state-level picture, see Alabama and Hernando de Soto in Alabama.

FAQs

When did the French found Mobile? In 1702, at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff.

Why did the French move the settlement? Floods, crop losses and cattle shortages led them to relocate in 1711.

Who founded French Louisiana’s first capital? The Le Moyne brothers, Iberville and Bienville.

When did the capital move to New Orleans? In late 1721.

When did French rule end? With the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

Sources

1. Encyclopedia of Alabama: European Exploration and Colonial Period
2. Encyclopedia of Alabama: French in Alabama: 1699-1763
3. Encyclopedia of Alabama: Mobile

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 10, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue