Most people think of New Orleans when they hear “Mardi Gras,” but Mobile, Alabama got the party started more than 300 years ago. Founded in 1702, Mobile launched its first Mardi Gras celebration in 1703, making it the oldest Mardi Gras city in the entire United States.
This Gulf Coast gem has been throwing colorful parades, masquerade balls, and festive gatherings longer than any other American city. If you want to understand the true roots of American Mardi Gras, Mobile is where the story really begins.
The 1703 Origin Story That Started It All
Way back in 1703, a group of French explorers and colonists gathered near the banks of the Mobile River to celebrate a tradition they had brought from Europe. This was the very first Mardi Gras celebration on American soil, organized by French-Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
Bienville and his men celebrated at a spot they called “27 Mile Bluff,” just north of present-day Mobile. They formed a secret society called the Masque de la Mobile, which helped organize the festivities…