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| The Cemetery at Blakeley |
This state park has a lot of history behind it, and to truly be able to enjoy visiting you have to know some of the history, so before telling you about the park, I will tell you some of the history. Blakeley State Park is a park that visitors can see if they are in the Baldwin County area of Alabama. Blakeley has a lot of history surrounding the park. As a matter of fact the Blakeley is one of the oldest towns in the state of Alabama. In 1814 the town was first chartered. In 1820 the town's population was about 4,000, which suprisingly was larger that the city that stood across the bay, Mobile. The town had stores, a courthouse, homes, a blacksmith and even hotels. However by the time that 1830 hit, Blakeley was slowing dieing out, the yellowfever epidemic hit this town hard and most of the remaining residents moved on to places like Mobile. For a short time the town began to come back during the Civil War, known as Fort Blakeley. The last major battle of the Civil War was fought at Blakeley with 20,000 men fighting at Blakeley, just hours after the surrender of Robert E. Lee. By the time 1865 hit, Blakeley was no more. The land reclaimed the city and battlefield until 1981 when Blakeley State Park was Opened.
This is a huge park, the first time that I went I made the mistake of thinking that it was something that
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| Civil War Battlements |
would take about an hour and you could walk. I should let you know that it is not. It is a park that will take you back in time to see Civil War battlements, a Civil War Cemetery, as well as where the old town used to sit. In order for you to see all this you will need to drive from place to place. When you arrive you will have to pay and then you will be given a park map. This will show you where to drive to see the different historic places that Blakeley has.
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| The Hiding Tree |
The first thing that you will see is the cemetery. The cemetery itself spans a pretty good amount of land but there are only a few cement crosses that mark these graves, and some of them have broken and fallen over with time. It's a site to see, but at the same time a bit sad and humbling. Depending on the route that you take, you can go to see the Civil War battlements that are still standing today. Just head over to the battlefield. You can get out and walk around on the battlefield and even stand behind the battlements and feel exactly what the soldiers that were fighting that day felt. I always find that I can't stand on that field without thinking about the men that fought and died that day, and the sacrifice that they made. If you are interested in seeing more from the battle then over near the boardwalk you will find a tree that is called the hiding tree. This tree was naturally hollowed out and is large enough to hide at least one grown man in it. Soldiers would use this tree to hide from oncoming attacks and as a way to ambush to attackers after they run past. If you find that you are brave enough and want to go inside the trunk of the tree and get your photo taken, it's one of a kind. The tree is marked on the map and points of interest that you will get when you enter the park, unless that has changed.
If you find that Civil War and battlefields aren't your favorite thing to see. You can go to where the
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| The Hanging Tree Branch |
town of Blakeley used to be and see the site of
the old courthouse and church. There is not much if anything left to see of this town, however there are markers that indicate where buildings and homes use to stand. If you head over to the area of the courthouse there is a tree that you will find is called the hanging tree. If you take a moment and look up at this tree you will see what looks like a knotch in the tree. This knotch is from the ropes that were used to hang people. As an added creep factor take someone that does not know this history and tell them to stand under the branch and look up, then explain what the knotch is, and then inform them that they are standing in the exact place that people were hung. It's something that can send chills up your spine to know that, but most people don't think of this when looking at the tree.
If you are a nature lover then you will find that you can walk on nature trails and see all sorts of wildlife. There have been sightings of snakes, foxes, coyotes, and other animals. Most of the time they won't be in the areas that are visited a good bit, at least during the day. Often times they will wander onto the nature trails, or come out later in the day and at night. Blakeley does have options for campers to stay overnight, but it's best to make sure that you are prepared and ready for the night. The park is locked up overnight and there is nobody that stays at the gatepost overnight. Day or night visitors are welcome to bring food and drink into the park, just as long as you make sure that you clean up after yourself.
Blakeley also has special events on occasion. If you would like to find out more about the park and the events then you can visit their website
Blakeley State Park.
The park is located from 9 AM to Dusk 7 Days a Week
