
The ship featured in the "Pirates of the Carribean" Disney film series, the Black Pearl, was built in a Bayou La Batre shipyard, and the town was made famous as the hometown of an important character in the 1994 film Forrest Gump.
History


Demographics
Bayou La Batre's population according to the 2010 Census was 2,558. Of that number, 60.3 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 22.8 percent as Asian, 12.3 percent as African American, 2.8 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 3.2 percent as two or more races, and 0.4 percent as Native American. The town's median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $34,539, and the per capita income was $15,332.
Employment
According to 2010 Census estimates, the work force in Bayou La Batre was divided among the following industrial categories:
· Retail trade (24.2 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (23.0 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (9.2 percent)
· Manufacturing (9.2 percent)
· Public administration (7.0 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (6.5 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (5.6 percent)
· Wholesale trade (4.5 percent)
· Construction (4.3 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (2.6 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (2.4 percent)
· Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (1.6 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (23.0 percent)
· Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extractive (9.2 percent)
· Manufacturing (9.2 percent)
· Public administration (7.0 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (6.5 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (5.6 percent)
· Wholesale trade (4.5 percent)
· Construction (4.3 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (2.6 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (2.4 percent)
· Finance, insurance, and real estate, rental, and leasing (1.6 percent)
Education
Public schools in Bayou La Batre are part of the Mobile County School District; the town has approximately 581 students and 29 teachers in one middle school.
State Highway 188 runs north-south through the city. The Roy E. Ray Airport is located five miles to the northeast of Bayou La Batre.
Events and Places of Interest
A loop of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail runs through Bayou La Batre. The city's location near the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay affords many opportunities for swimming, boating, and fishing.
Events include the annual Blessing of the Fleet, which celebrates the town's fishing industry, in May and the Taste of the Bayou seafood festival in September.
Additional Resources
Mobile County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Mobile County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2002.
Additional Resources
Mobile County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Mobile County. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2002.