Courtesy History Museum of Mobile

MOBILE, Alabama — Fort Condé in downtown Mobile’s is being re-imagined as a gateway to the city’s 300-year history.

The reconstructed fort on Royal Street, which opened to the public on July 4, 1976, was built in 1723 and was used for nearly 100 years.

The new exhibit, “Fort Condé: Mobile Starts Here,” will give visitors an overview of Mobile’s history from its founding in 1702 through the War of 1812.

The exhibit includes a piece of the original wooden palisade, one of the fort’s first locks, glazed ceramics found when workers were reconstructing the fort in 1976, and a steamer trunk that belonged to the Spaniard who originally settled the Chickasabogue area, Don Miguel Alvarez.

The fort is still open to visitors, but some of the galleries are closed while the exhibits are being organized. The grand opening will be October 6.

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