Mobile's long history includes joyous Mardi Gras celebrations and tragic natural disasters. Civil War and segregation, shipping and manufacturing, dirt streets and booming wharves are part of its fascinating story. Cargo shipped to and from its busy docks gradually shifted from cotton to timber to bananas to manufactured goods. In World War II, its population grew exponentially as the city became an important shipbuilder for America's arsenal. Historic Photos of Mobile  transports readers to a time of hoop skirts and horse-drawn carriages, then shows them how the city changed during the first half of the twentieth century. Timeless, rarely seen, black-and-white images capture historic colleges, family-owned shops, the longest American flag ever displayed, hurricane damage, social change, tall ships, and scenes of daily life in generations long gone. Carol Ellis was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to a career Army father. She moved with her family to Mobile in 1970. Carol currently serves as Archivist for the University of South Alabama, from which she earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. She serves on the executive boards of the Society of Alabama Archivists and the Gulf South Historical Association. Scotty E. Kirkland is a graduate student in American history at the University of South Alabama and an assistant at the University Archives. His articles have appeared in The Alabama Review and The Southern Historian. He lives in Mobile with his wife, Jacqlyn.