About Us :

Historic Mobile Preservation Society was founded in 1935 as a grassroots membership group dedicated to preserving the tangible links to the past for the benefit of present and future generations. HMPS's mission includes curating the Oakleigh Historic Complex, a 19th century museum and archives campus in the heart of one of Mobile's most beautiful historic districts.

HMPS is a Forum member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a member of the Alabama Preservation Alliance, the NTHP Statewide Partner.

Year-round activities include field trips to historic locations, guest speakers, workshops, parties, concerts and social gatherings. Ongoing research and document and material preservation are part of the organization's ongoing work.

HMPS members receive free admission to general tours of Oakleigh complex as well as free and reduced admission to selected activities throughout the year. Members also receive a subscription to Landmark Letter and qualify for discounted registration to the annual National Trust for Historic Preservation conference.

HMPS holdings of historic materials include an impressive collection of 19th century art, including the magnificent Thomas K. Sully portrait of "Miss Walton of Florida," the formal debut portrait of Octavia Walton LeVert, once known as "the belle of the South." The Mitchell Archives serves as a research facility for historians, scholars, students, researchers, history buffs and the lovers of Southern literature and historic photography. The centerpiece of this collection is a 2,000-plus print of circa 1900 dry-plate glass negatives in the William E. Wilson Collection. At the top of this column is one of Wilson's Mardi Gras parade photographs circa 1902.