Meaher State Park

State park in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States

Meaher State Park

Wetlands at Meaher State Park

Location in Alabama

Location| Spanish Fort, Baldwin County, Alabama, United States
Coordinates| 30°40′11″N 87°56′9″W﻿ / ﻿30.66972°N 87.93583°W﻿ / 30.66972; -87.93583
Area| 1,327 acres (5.37 km2)
Elevation| 3 ft (0.91 m)[1]
Designation| Alabama state park
Established| 1989
Administrator| Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Website| Meaher State Park

Meaher State Park is a public recreation area located on Big Island,[1] an island at the north end of Mobile Bay that lies within the city limits of Spanish Fort, Alabama. The state park occupies 1,327 acres (537 ha) along the shoreline of Ducker Bay,[2] at the junction of Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.[3] It is surrounded by wetlands of the Mobile Bay estuary. The park is accessed from Battleship Parkway, known locally as the "Causeway," and is managed by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.[4]

## History[edit]

The park opened in 1989. The land was donated to the state for public recreational use by Augustine Meaher, for whom the park is named.[3] Augustine Meaher was a descendant of Timothy Meaher, who illegally smuggled 110 West African slaves into Mobile Bay on the schooner Clotilda in 1860. He was charged with smuggling but was not convicted.[5]

## Awards[edit]

In September 2020, Meaher State Park was one of eleven Alabama State Parks awarded Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award, which recognizes businesses and attractions that earn consistently high user reviews.[6]

## Activities and amenities[edit]

The park features an interpretive boardwalk through the wetlands, picnic area, boat ramp, fishing pier, two cabins, and a camping area with 56 individual campsites.[4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Big Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. ^ "Ducker Bay". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
3. ^ a b Ress, Thomas V. (December 18, 2012). "Meaher State Park". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama Humanities Foundation. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
4. ^ a b "Meaher State Park". Alabama State Parks. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
5. ^ Reeves, Jay (February 8, 2019). "Descendants from last US slave ship gathering in Alabama". AP News. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
6. ^ "Trip Advisor Awards 2020". Official Web site of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Meaher State Park Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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Protected areas of Alabama

Federal|

| National Parks
and Historic Sites|

* Horseshoe Bend
* Tuskegee Airmen
* Tuskegee Institute

|

National Monuments|

* Birmingham Civil Rights
* Freedom Riders
* Russell Cave

National Forests|

* Conecuh
* Talladega
* Tuskegee
* William B. Bankhead

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Bon Secour
* Cahaba River
* Choctaw
* Eufaula
* Fern Cave
* Key Cave
* Mountain Longleaf
* Sauta Cave
* Watercress Darter
* Wheeler

Wilderness areas|

* Cheaha Wilderness
* Dugger Mountain Wilderness
* Sipsey Wilderness

National Wild and Scenic Rivers|

Sipsey Fork

Other protected areas|

* Little River Canyon National Preserve
* Natchez Trace Trail
* Pinhoti National Recreation Trail
* Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
* Weeks Bay Reserve

State|

| State Parks|

* Bladon Springs
* Blue Springs
* Buck's Pocket
* Cathedral Caverns
* Chattahoochee
* Cheaha
* Chewacla
* Chickasaw
* Confederate Memorial Park
* DeSoto
* Florala
* Frank Jackson
* Gulf
* Joe Wheeler
* Lake Guntersville
* Lake Lurleen
* Lakepoint
* Meaher
* Monte Sano
* Oak Mountain
* Paul M. Grist
* Rickwood Caverns
* Roland Cooper
* Tannehill Ironworks
* Wind Creek

|

State Forests|

* Choccolocco
* Hauss
* Geneva
* Little River
* Macon
* Weogufka

Wildlife Management Areas|

* Cahaba River
* Lauderdale
* Mobile-Tensaw Delta-W L Holland
* Gaillard Island

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (web)
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