Satsuma: The Orange Town That Lost Its Trees
Near Mobile, Alabama
This Mobile County community was called Fig Tree Island until nineteen fifteen, when it renamed itself for the citrus fruit then making local fortunes. Satsuma oranges, a cold-hardy variety originating in Japan, had found a surprising home along Alabama's Gulf Coast.
Cold snaps and citrus canker repeatedly damaged the trees, and severe freezes in the late nineteen thirties dealt the industry a heavy blow. The town kept its name even after the last orange grove died, a reminder of what briefly flourished here when the trees were still standing.
