Conde-Charlotte Museum House

The Conde- Charlotte Museum House, also known as the House of Five Flags, is located on Theatre Street adjacent to Fort Conde. It is beautifully furnished with period antiques depicting Mobile's history under five flags: French, English, Spanish, American and Confederate. Visitors of the house and garden get a unique overview of the history of the Mobile area.

The French ruled the Mobile area from 1711-1763; the British from 1763-1780; and the Spanish from 1780-1812. The area became American in 1813 which continued until the beginning of the Civil War in1861when the area was part of the Confederacy.

The house, built by Jonathan and Elizabeth Kirkbride in 1850, was built on the site of an old jail, which dates back to 1822. A two-foot thick brick floor and doors from the jail remain on the site.

The Conde Charlotte House has been furnished to include a French sitting room and bedroom, a British "commandant`s room" and walled Spanish garden of late 18th century design. Also in the House Museum, you will see an American Federal dining room, two 1850`s bedrooms, two Confederate parlors, plus a kitchen filled with 19th and 20th century equipment.

Using the house and collections as tools, trained guides offer an overview of the area`s history in an interesting 45 minute tour. The variety and authenticity of the furnishings and period antiques make this a charming museum.

Since 1957, the house has been owned, preserved, and operated by The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Alabama.

The mission of the Conde'-Charlotte Museum House is to preserve the historic structure and its collections and to educate the public by interpreting the history of the site and the French, Spanish, English, American and Confederate periods in Mobile.

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