Way Back When our son David Outlaw was one of the youngsters who had the job of hoisting and lowering the gigantic American flag on the top of the hill at Spanish Fort in the 1970s-'80s, he rode his bike the mile from our home on Caisson Trace to the Fuller Brothers Real Estate office at the entrance to the "new" estates at dawn and sunset.

We were living right smack dab in no-man's land, between Red Fort and the Union lines, so we finally were able to answer the roadside signs we grew up reading "Eat and Sleep on a Battlefield." Our walks in the neighborhood were history lessons thanks to the many historic markers erected there relating to the 1864 battle.

Spanish Fort Motel is located on a spacious, beautifully landscaped grounds 8 miles east of Mobile where U.S. 31 intersects U.S. 90 and U.S. 98, overlooking Mobile Bay. It is the historic battlefield site of the Battle of Spanish Fort, April 8-9, 1865. The motel is luxuriously furnished, air-conditioned and electrically heated. Color TV - it has a large crystal clear swimming and wading pool; …

We lived there long before there was a city, but there was an unofficial mayor, George Fuller Jr. We took for granted the leadership of the unincorporated community by the man who was a marketing genius. Before the days of POA dues, we never thought to question who was financing the historic markers, water tank sign, landscaping and the flag Way Back When, But George Jr. was behind it all.

He was the middle George.

The story of the three Georges (not the ones who made chocolate in Mobile) is the story of the development of Spanish Fort as we know it today.

Each George played a significant role in the development of what we now know as Spanish Fort Estates. Talk about a story — the Fuller family sure has one; actually, many more than one. A recent sit-down with George the Third in Fairhope was an eye-opener to say the least. He generously shared family stories with me, including that their middle name is Elmer. It was simply chosen by the first George who admired an athlete by that name.

George E. Fuller Sr. Photo courtesy of George Fuller III

THE FIRST GEORGE

Way Back When tons of Chicagoans were investing in properties in Baldwin County at the turn of the 20th century, Old Spanish Fort Development Company built a country club and golf course at the site of the battlefield at Spanish Fort. It went belly-up with the Depression, just about the same time that George Fuller Sr. experienced the same devastation, losing his gentleman's farm in Illinois. He moved his family to Fairhope, where he and his wife had vacationed in their more prosperous days. He managed to purchase the theater on Fairhope Avenue, and he and his three children worked there to eke out a living. Ahh, those Saturdays at the theaters — a story soon to follow!

Thanks to his wife's inheritance from her Boston relatives, they were able to buy 3,000 acres of the defunct country club in Spanish Fort. They formed Patrice Incorporated and began the campaign to develop the area. With the opening of the causeway and increase in motor travel, he targeted the traveler at the intersection of Highways 90, 98 and 31, where he built a tourist court. The gas station and restaurant were a roadside attraction with the tower he built in response to tourist inquiries about the "Fort" of Spanish Fort. The Tourist Court included small cottages on the bluff, where he first started the Spanish Fort Estates subdivision. The community formerly known as Bridgehead was a stop on the Greyhound Bus route, but soon, the Fullers were using the Spanish Fort name as a calling card.

George Fuller Jr. as an NBC broadcaster in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of George Fuller III

THE SECOND GEORGE

Two of his four children, George Jr. and David, worked with their father in the business. George Jr. had been a correspondent in World War II and earned a bronze star for his part in the D-Day invasion. David managed the business while he was gone. George then became a syndicated radio broadcaster with NBC in Baltimore, but because his father did not think broadcasting was a respectable career, he returned to live with his parents in Mobile, where he met his wife, Ann.

With their father, the siblings formed Fuller Brothers Real Estate, and that is when George Jr.'s knack for advertising really showed up. By this time, they were living on the bluff, and Patrician Drive became known and Spanish Fort Estates. The new company purchased parcels of land from Patrice Inc. and began one of the most prominent neighborhoods in the greater Mobile area.

Spanish Fort Shopping Center. Photo courtesy of Chuck Phillips, Facebook page History of Spanish Fort

In the 1950s, they built a new motel across the road to the east; the neon sign with a cannon shooting a cannonball attracted tourists from all over the world. The motel offered memberships to the swimming pool, which soon became the gathering point for families of the "Estates." At this time, the original Tourist Court was demolished to make way for a shopping center, but the restaurant stayed in operation for many more years. George Jr. published a local paper, The Bulletin, and gathered stories of local interest.

George made frequent visits to Spanish Fort Elementary School, where I was teaching at the time. His stories were fascinating — and a few were written in his newspaper columns. He was intent on building a community, and he did just that by donating land for the school, Presbyterian Church and Westminster Village Retirement Community. The big neon sign atop the water tower on the bluff was seen from Mobile — all designed to attract new residents.

George Fuller III. Photo courtesy of George Fuller III

THE THIRD GEORGE

David Fuller Jr. and Sr. both continued to work with the Fuller Brother's Real Estate Company and were instrumental in the addition of many more sections, each filling up as soon as they were put on the market. They are credited with the preservation of historic sites of Indian Middens and Fort McDermott in the process of the development.

Carrying on the family tradition, George Elmer Fuller III deserves a biography of his own. George III is a master storyteller: family roots, lead singer and guitarist for Skunk Posey and the Styx River Band, editorship of The Courier, writer, lyricist, professional public relations career, etc., etc. Maybe he gets his talent genetically, as he refers to his father as an artist. He wrote a song about the Spanish Fort Motel but said it is not for publication. So, if you are lucky enough to know him, just maybe he will share it with you. So, George, get busy and write that family history. What a story you can tell — I've just scratched the surface.

Now, back to the theaters. If you have memories of movie theaters back in the day, please email me at harrietoutlaw@gmail.com.

Spanish Fort Motel. Photo courtesy of Harriet Outlaw, postcard collection