We Built This City: Tradesmen, Builders & Architects, 1837-1940

Who were the tradesmen, builders, and architects that built Mobile? Piecing together the lives of these individuals can only be done little by little. Their stories are told as a result of research in court records, city directories, death and cemetery records, ship logs, marriage, census and naturalization records. It is simple to find the people who stand out in the community, but it takes time to find information on those less well-known. More research needs to be done in the above records to achieve a more complete look at these individuals who were the heart of Mobile.

This website contains two searchable databases that hold information on these tradesmen. There is also a searchable database on the information found in early building permits. There are links to various photographs of architects, builders, and tradesmen as well as some of the specific homes and businesses they built.

City of Mobile
Mobile Historic Development Commission
Government Plaza
2nd Floor, South Tower
P.O. Box 1827
Mobile, AL 36633

Phone: 251-208-7281
Fax: 251-208-7966
Email: MHDC@cityofmobile.org

Research by Rita Thompson.

This website was funded by a grant from the Sybil H. Smith Charitable Trust.

Photographs provided courtesy of the University of South Alabama Archives.