What a delightful and “must see” vacation stop in Mobile Alabama!

This 3.5 acre complex houses the city’s official antebellum mansion, called the Oakleigh House Museum, the Mardi Gras Cottage Museum, which houses an exciting review of the history of Mobile’s Mardi Gras festival and the Cox-Deasy Cottage, which is a middle class Creole residence built in the 19th-century.

The wonderful part about this Alabama destination is that you can enjoy all three tours with just one stop.

The Oakleigh Period House Museum and Historic Complex are operated by the Historic Mobile Preservation Society and are designed to showcase the living conditions of the time.

With the variety of buildings you can truly get a clear picture of daily life in the mid-19th century when you visit the three museums which depict the lives of a society family, a working class family and a servant’s family. The authenticity of the museums is quite impressive.

The Oakleigh House museum itself is a downtown delight and is located at 350 Oakleigh Place. It is the picture perfect example of Southern elegance at its best. The Oakleigh home was originally by a cotton farmer from Virginia and many years later no less than three generations of Mobile society’s elite called this magnificent abode home.

This official antebellum mansion of the city of Mobile showcases the opulence of the South with its stately grand white columns and apparent quality of the story book example of Greek Revival architecture. This home boasts a grand parlor and an impressive cantilevered front staircase, and classic six-over six windows.

Furnished with rare and exquisite European and American antiques as well as personal belongings of the former family of the home, this Southern mansion will take you back in time as it comes to life for those who walk its halls. Tour guides done period dress to enhance your experience and they play the part to the hilt.

Located on the property you will also find the Cook’s quarters. Built around 1850, the quarters housed the slaves who worked the property. This building perfectly depicts the everyday life of the domestic servants, the craftsmen and the laborers who lived on the property. What a difference between the two homes!

The Cox-Deasy home, also built around 1850 tells the story of the working class family. Historical tales say this was a home built by a brick mason for his wife and their 11 children. Unable to spare the brick needed for his own home from his inventory sold to others, his home was built as a four room wooden structure with a simple centralized hallway. Again, a picture in contrast.

This is a complex that you simply must take the time to enjoy. Perhaps take a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds once you have enjoyed the various buildings and have soaked in the magnitude of history located here on the Oakleigh complex.

Take your time and study the contrasting lifestyles you will discover when you tour each museum. This complex is so well done that you can almost hear the laughter of the families who called them home.