SOUTHEAST—Southeast Regional Director Jessica Crawford and Field Representative Nikki Mattson visited the Old Mobile site near Mobile, Alabama, which is the original location of Mobile, or Vieux Mobile, established in 1702 by Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. Chosen on the advice of nearby Mobilian Indians and named for them, the settlement included Fort Louis and a planned town layout. After a little more than nine years of challenges in the swampy environment, the community relocated downriver to Mobile’s present-day site. The Archaeological Conservancy holds two easements at Old Mobile, helping ensure this foundational colonial landscape remains protected for future research and interpretation.
The December 2025 visit was especially meaningful as it coincided with a guided tour led by Dr. Gregory Waselkov, who worked at Old Mobile from 1989 to 2017 while a professor at the University of South Alabama. Waselkov has been instrumental to the Conservancy’s preservation efforts in the state, including his role in the acquisition of Holy Ground (Ekvncakv) and a portion of the Gulf Shores Canal—two key Alabama sites he helped identify and investigate—and he has recommended numerous other potential acquisitions over the years.
This tour also marked Waselkov’s final visit to Old Mobile before relocating to Pennsylvania. Long a tireless advocate for archaeological and historic preservation across Alabama and the Southeast, he has been a valued colleague and friend to the Conservancy. We are grateful for his years of support and wish him the very best as he begins this next chapter in the Conservancy’s Eastern Region.
Pictured: Southeast Regional Director Jessica Crawford, left, and Field Representative Nikki Mattson, right, stand with Dr. Gregory Waselkov, who worked at the Old Mobile Site for decades. Courtesy photo.
