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DID YOU KNOW THAT...

The Ferris wheel at The Wharf is the tallest in the southeast. This Italian-made structure stands an impressive 112 feet tall.

Admiral David Farragut uttered his famous words—“Damn the torpedoes…(full) speed ahead”—just off the shores of Fort Morgan.

The first Indian village in America to be visited by an explorer was located near the present-day site of Shellbanks Baptist Church on Fort Morgan Road in Gulf Shores. A member of Hernanado de Soto’s party encountered a member of the local Indian tribe “Achuse.”

Orange Beach was named after the short-lived success of locals who attempted to grow oranges, grapefruit and satsuma trees on the shores.

LuLu’s at Homeport Marina typically has about 3,000 hungry patrons per summer day.

Ono Island was once called “Goat Island” and was purchased in 1945 for $3,000.

Lake Shelby is the closest body of freshwater next to a body of saltwater in the world.

The first post office in Orange Beach was established in 1896 in the home of the postmaster.

Indian mounds in Baldwin County are said by some archaeologists to be older than the pyramids of Egypt.

Fort Morgan was purchased for $8,000 in 1927 by the State of Alabama.

Baldwin County is the largest of Alabama’s 67 counties and is bigger than Rhode Island.

Pirates once hid in Perdido Pass and Perdido Bay to raid ships and they may have buried some of their treasure in Baldwin County.

Around Little Lagoon, men used to yodel messages to neighbors.

The Hurricane of 1906 deposited many minerals in the soil, making it so fertile that farmers grew sweet potatoes the size of buckets and cabbages weighing 15-20 pounds each.

The name Pleasure Island was suggested by Gov. Jim Folsom and officially adopted by the Gulf Shores Lions Club in 1949.

Baby oysters are called spat.

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