|
Dauphin Island is a town in Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name (split by the Katrina Cut), at the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 1,238 at the 2010 census. The town is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area. The island (originally named "Massacre Island") was renamed for Louis XIV's great-grandson and heir, the Dauphin. The name of the island is often mistaken as "Dolphin Island"; ''dauphin'' is "dolphin" in the French language. The Gulf of Mexico is to the south of the island; the Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay are to the north. The island's eastern end helps define the mouth of Mobile Bay. The eastern, wider portion of the island is shaded by thick stands of pine trees, but the narrow, western part of the island features scrub growth and few trees. Dauphin Island is home to Fort Gaines, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, The Estuarium public aquarium, the Dauphin Island Airport, boat ramps, a large public pier (that sits on dry land〔(Dauphin Island Fishing Pier ). Dauphinisland.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.〕), historic sites, several restaurants, new condominium developments, and numerous private homes. Beaches attract tourism, and fishing is a popular activity in the waters around the island. The island is connected to the mainland by the Gordon Persons Bridge. Although the island has several bird sanctuaries, the main one is the Audubon Bird Sanctuary. Dauphin Island is the first landfall encountered by many birds as they migrate north from South America, and as a consequence many species can be found resting there before continuing their journey. In May 2012, the central public beach began charging for access. This marked the second beach on the island to charge the public following the creation of the privately owned West End Beach.〔(Dauphin Island public beach fee set to begin in late May | al.com ). Blog.al.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.〕 ==History== Serpentine shell middens, perhaps 1500 years old, attest to at least seasonal occupation by the Native American Mound Builder culture. Shell Mound Park, along the Island's northern shore, is administered by Alabama Marine Resources Division. In 1519, the Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda was the first documented European to visit, staying long enough to map the island with remarkable accuracy. The island's French history began on January 31, 1699, when the explorer Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville, one of the founders of French Louisiana, arrived at Mobile Bay, and anchored near the island on his way to explore the mouth of the Mississippi River. D'Iberville named it "Isle Du Massacre" (Massacre Island) because of a large pile of human skeletons discovered there. The gruesome site turned out to be a simple burial mound which had been broken open by a hurricane, not a massacre site, but the name stuck.〔(【引用サイトリンク】work=Shirepost.com )〕 D'Iberville later decided to locate a port for Fort Louis de La Louisiane on the island due to abundant timber, reliable supply of fresh water, and a deep-water harbor. The settlement consisted of a fort, a chapel, government-owned warehouses, and residences.〔 The island served as a major trading depot, unloading goods from Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Mexico, Cuba and France, and collecting furs in a short-lived fur trade. Mobile Bay itself, before a channel was dredged, was too shallow, and its sand bars too shifting and treacherous, for ocean-going vessels to travel up the bay and Mobile River to Fort Louis de La Louisiane. So, smaller boats carried cargo within Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. Fort Gaines on the eastern tip of the island was built between 1821 and 1848. It was occupied by Confederate forces in 1861, and captured by Federal troops during the Battle of Mobile Bay. The phrase, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," was spoken by U. S. Admiral David Farragut just a few hundred yards from Dauphin Island's shore. The first Sand Island Light, authorized in 1834, was replaced by a structure high, at a cost of $35,000, that was dynamited by Confederate forces. The present lighthouse (1873; in use until 1970), has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its ownership was recently transferred from the Department of Interior to the Town of Dauphin Island. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dauphin Island, Alabama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|