Soldiers and Captives, Boarders and Brides: The Many Lives of Condé Charlotte
By Laura Jane Rogers and Elizabeth Wade
Alabama Heritage, Summer 2010

Situated near Fort Condé, Mobile’s Condé Charlotte Museum House boasts a complex and often mysterious history. In 1957 the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Alabama purchased the house and began efforts to restore and preserve it. Eventually, they opened the site as a museum of Mobile’s history. However, along the way, preservationists realized that the house’s history held more layers than originally thought. Researchers know the house has been used as a residence, an office, and a boarding house. However, archaeologists have also found evidence to suggest that some part of the structure may once have formed a city jail, and it possibly even constituted part of a magazine for nearby Fort Condé. Laura Rogers and Elizabeth Wade explore the mysteries surrounding this fascinating historical treasure, and archaeologist Bonnie Gums details the current research being conducted on the site.