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Fairhope By Nancy and Richard Woodworth On a wide, verdant bluff overlooking Mobile Bay lies a pleasing town founded on a utopian dream that was given only a "fair hope" of survival. But survive it did. Fairhope was settled in 1894 by Midwestern idealists who established it as a single-tax colony. They gave up private land in favor of common ownership by a member-owned corporation, which leased it back to individuals for the good of the community. More than 100 years later, Fairhope thrives as a model community, the only one of its kind. Fairhope is unusual for more than its utopian ideals. It is one of the few shoreline communities located on a bluff, part of ridge that’s the highest coastal point between Maine and Mexico. That gives it a hilly and green prospect uncommon for the Southeast coast. Fairhope also exudes an unmistakable air of prosperity, but it is leavened by a lack of showy pretension traceable to its humble beginnings. It has fine community-owned facilities, not the least of which are a mile-long waterfront park ahead of its time and a long pier stretching into Mobile Bay. Free-thinkers have built interesting homes, both substantial and modest. A creative spirit has spawned an uncommon number of authors and artists (the revered Fairhope Arts & Crafts Show draws up to 250,000 people annually the third weekend in March). The flourishing downtown, home to thriving shops and restaurants, changes its lavish floral landscape with the seasons. Fairhope’s ties with New Orleans, from chefs to architecture, prompt some to call it "The Little French Quarter." Why, Fairhope even has one of the folksiest-ever web sites on the Internet, defining "All Things Southern." Fairhope actually got a late start on what is now the good life. The area along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay developed first in the early 1800s around Point Clear, site of the venerable Grand Hotel. The antebellum hotels and cottages here and in Daphne, to the north of what is now Fairhope, were favored by wealthy Mobile and New Orleans residents for summer getaways. These areas flourished before Fairhope was founded in 1894 by 27 northerners who arrived by bay boat to pursue the dream of economist/philosopher Henry George in a warmer clime. Their settlement based on collectivism grew and prospered, particularly in recent years. Today the model community is home to small business entrepreneurs, academics, professionals and retirees (a national publication proclaimed Fairhope one of the nation’s top ten retirement spots). It also has uncommon appeal for visitors who want to stay, eat, shop and explore the languorous shore of Mobile Bay. They, too, think they’ve found utopia, if only for a day or two. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in the Southeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2000. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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