Belle Mina, AL

Belle Mina is a city located in Baldwin County, Alabama. The population was 10,898 as of the 2010 census. Belle Mina is a suburb of Mobile and is part of the Mobile metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the French word for beautiful woman.

The history of Belle Mina can be traced back to 1825 when General James Fenton established a trading post on the banks of the Tombigbee River. In 1836, General Andrew Jackson granted Fenton's trading post to Colonel John Coffee and his wife Elizabeth. The Coffee family developed Belle Mina into a prosperous plantation town with cotton plantations and rice fields. In 1875, after years of litigation, Mrs. Elizabeth Coffee deeded her property to the City of Mobile for use as public park land.

In 1906, developers began purchasing land in Belle Mina for development as a suburb of Mobile. A railroad line was built through Belle Mina in 1907 which helped spur development; by 1910 there were 1,000 homes in Belle Mina and it had become an incorporated city with a population of 2,500 people.

During World War II, many residents left Belle Mina to work in defense plants in nearby Mobile; by 1950 only 1,000 people remained in Belle Mina and it had lost its status as an incorporated city. However, because it was still within the boundaries of Mobile County it continued to function as an independent municipality until 1970 when it became part of Baldwin County due to population growth within Baldwin County