Sweet Home Alabama

Nestled on the grassy bluff of Mobile Bay, Fairhope delivers small-town charm and spectacular sunsets.

- Laura Anders Lee

A CENTURY BEFORE the Walt Disney Company built its utopian town of Celebration, two dozen settlers from Iowa founded a place called Fairhope on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. In this Gulf Coast Alabama town, they envisioned a “fair hope” of success for all its residents. They chose the most beautiful spots—wide bluffs and beaches—and preserved them as parkland for future generations.

About 22 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, Fairhope is halfway between Seaside, Florida, and New Orleans. From that small group of Iowans, this idyllic town is now home to some 18,000 residents who are enjoying life just as those early settlers had planned.

If you have preconceived notions about Alabama (most people do), Fairhope’s charm will change your perspective. the town has been compared to Carmel, California, though, make no mistake, it’s Southern to the core. Quintessential Alabama writers, such as Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump, and Fannie Flagg, who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, have called this place home. No doubt they have drawn inspiration from the area’s magnificent live oaks and the sunset-soaked bay, as well as a big dollop of Southern hospitality.

J.D. Crowe was an editorial cartoonist in California working for the Los Angeles Times when he found Fairhope by accident while traveling.