Dauphin Island, a spit of sand off the southern coast of Mobile County, Alabama, is a storied and beguiling barrier island where you can easily see water on both sides as you stand on the main strip of road that runs the length of the island.  It’s a good day trip from Fort Morgan (take the Mobile Bay Ferry for the day), or a destination.

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The island is a nature paradise with bird sanctuaries, long wide strips of beach, and shorelines that give up a plenitude of fish.

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Historically Important

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Before western European dominance, Dauphin Island served as a way station for one or more Native American tribes. The indigenous peoples floated dugout canoes to the island’s bays to collect oysters and other seafood. Their immense appetite for oysters led them to harvest millions from the island’s northern shores and to discard the shells on the land.

Eventually, the abandoned shells grew into shell mounds, which can still be seen at what has been designated Shell Mound Park on Iberville Drive.  The park at 830 Desoto Drive comprises 11 acres of botanical treasures found on no other Gulf of Mexico barrier island. The mound dates to the Mississippian period (1100 to 1550). 

The park includes giant oak trees whose limbs are covered with moss draperies.  Plants in the park are representative of plant species as far afield as the Appalachian Mountains and the Mexican Yucatan state.

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The French, who landed on the island in 1699, dubbed it “Massacre Island” because they found many skeletons scattered on the beach. The skeletons were likely those of indigenous peoples who frequented the island for hundreds of years. French colonists were the first to establish a settlement on the island. Pirates raided the colony in 1711, but the settlement survived.

The French Governor General of Louisiana lived on the island later in the 18th century in a home where today there is a park, Cadillac Square. Today’s name for the island came from the French, honoring the island after a member of French royalty, “Dauphine.”

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Historically, the island also has served as a protection for Mobile County and the City of Mobile. On its tip sits Fort Gaines, which played a significant role during the American Civil War when it protected the shipping lanes from incursions by Federal ships. It took a major flotilla of Union ships led by Admiral David Farragut, which sparked the Battle of Mobile Bay, before Fort Gaines fell to federal forces.

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The island also protects south Mobile County from storm surges when hurricanes whip ashore. But the storms rake the island’s homes and businesses as they scourer the thin land mass on their way to the shores of Mobile County.  

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Today’s Island

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A 3-mile-long bridge carries a section of Alabama 193 across Pass Aux Herons channel, connecting the island to the mainland. The first bridge opened in 1955, opening the island to development. That bridge was destroyed in 1979 by Hurricane Frederic and was replaced in 1982 by a more modern structure. There is no bridge across Mobile Bay to the Eastern Shore.

The only transportation means between Fort Morgan, Alabama, and Dauphin Island is an automobile ferry that must shut down during bad weather.

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The island, like many barrier islands on the Gulf Coast, now contains hundreds of houses, many on the exposed northern shore, and four condo developments.  

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There are several restaurants on the island. I ate at the Islanders Restaurant, which says it has the best view of sunsets on the island.  The food was good, as was the Bloody Mary.

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Environmentally Important

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Dauphin Island is the largest and most important barrier island in the Mississippi Sound.  It is also the most important for migrating birds each fall and spring, so the entire island has been designated a bird sanctuary.  This has led to the development of three specific bird sanctuaries – Shell Mound Park, Audubon Bird Sanctuary, and Goat Tree Sanctuary. 

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The Goat Tree Park takes its name from a handed down tale about wild goats that climbed into the trees to sleep, and to escape floods and predators, such as alligators. 

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Supporting the island’s environmental significance is the establishment on the island of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, a consortium of state universities that conduct important research on marine live and beach replenishment. 

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Two smaller uninhabited islands sit off shore – Little Dauphin Island and Pelican Island. The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge takes up much of the northern portion of Dauphin Island.  Further out in the bay is the historic Sand Island Lighthouse.

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Getting there: From Interstate 10 take the Dauphin Island exit, turn right and follow the signs. From Gulf Shores, take the Mobile Bay Ferry from the tip of Fort Morgan. Cost is $18 for car and driver, more for passengers. Substantial discount for a return trip the same day.  Call the ferry for scheduled runs at 251-861-3000.

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