This 6300 square foot space was blighted for years with the roof dangerously caved in! We have rescued the building from demolition by the City with quick action after its purchase. We moved right in and our team stabilized it, cleaned up the debris, and salvaged the beautiful rough cut lumber from the roof.
This will be a public plaza and small Arboretum dedicated to William Bartram’s visit here in 1775 with many specimens of the plants and trees he would have seen.
The proposed opening in in January 2027. This property is in the very middle of the block and will act as an anchor.
In 1775, naturalist, botanist, and explorer, William Bartram, entered present-day Alabama from Georgia with a trader caravan. He traveled through multiple Muscogee (Creek) towns, reaching the Mobile region by late July 1775, including the area that would later become Citronelle. His purpose was to collect specimens of the plant Collinsonia canadensis—called “citronella” locally at the time—known for its medicinal uses, especially as a fever remedy.
The region was not yet a town. It was part of Chickasaw territory, with indigenous settlements in the surrounding lands. Bartram recorded the presence of abundant “citronella” plants, which ultimately inspired the later name Citronelle when settlers arrived decades afterward. Although Citronelle was just one brief stop, it fits into his longer expedition through the American Southeast where he documented flora, fauna, waterways, soils, and Native cultures from 1773 through 1777.
Today, Bartram’s expedition and contributions are celebrated throughout the Southeast from the Bartram Trail in the Appalachian Mountains, to the Bartram Canoe Trail closer to home in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and numerous sites in Florida. In Citronelle, the William Bartram Plaza will celebrate our connection to the famed naturalist, botanist, and explorer.
We have crossed into constructing large planters with benches, painting the remaining metal work, and securing the Plaza with the installation of new metalwork in the window openings along with a large double gate.
Sometimes just a simple addition can add so much to the look and feel of an empty space.
We think these market lights look pretty good lighting up our construction zone in the soon-to-be William Bartram Plaza.
