Chickasabogue Park facts for kids

Chickasabogue Park is a huge park in Eight Mile, Alabama, covering about 1,100 acres! It's a fantastic place for outdoor fun in Mobile County, Alabama. You can find lots of cool things to do here, like camping, hiking, and biking on its many trails.

The park also has a disc golf course, sports fields, and places to launch boats. There's even a beach on Chickasabogue Creek, which connects the park to the town of Chickasaw, Alabama and Mobile Bay. Inside the park, you can visit a museum. It shows interesting items from Native American times, the Colonial period, and the plantation era. This museum is located in an old church built way back in 1879.

Discovering Chickasabogue Park's Past

Chickasabogue Park has a long and interesting history. People have lived in this area for thousands of years.

Early Native American Life

The very first people known to live in the park area were Native Americans from the Woodland period. They were here around 1500 BCE, which is about 3,500 years ago! Later, in the early 1700s, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville moved members of the Apalache tribe to live along Chickasabogue Creek. Bienville was the person who founded the city of Mobile, Alabama.

First European Settlers

The first European to settle here was a Spaniard named Don Diego Miguel Álvarez. He was given land in the area in 1787. This was a time when Spain controlled parts of what is now Alabama.

The Myers Plantation Era

Later, in the 1800s, a family named Myers built a large plantation here. Frederic Daniel Myers and his sons started a saw mill along the creek as early as 1843. Their plantation grew to include many things. They had a grist mill for grinding grain and a brick kiln for making bricks. They also grew crops like rice and corn, and raised livestock. There was even a small town on the plantation with its own public school.

A Hiding Place During the Civil War

During the last few months of the American Civil War, the park area became a hiding spot. About 700 people from a nearby town called Whistler, Alabama hid here. They were trying to escape from Union troops who were advancing through the area.

Becoming a Public Park

The Myers family sold their property in 1903. Later, a company called Scott Paper Company bought the land. In 1969, they generously donated 750 acres of this land to Mobile County. This donation helped create the Chickasabogue Park we know today. People have actually been using this area for fun and relaxation since the 1930s!