Spring Hill

A toll road, now known as Old Shell Road, was completed in 1850. It was built by laying down a bed of crushed oyster shells.^[7] The Spring Hill Railroad was established in 1860, but sometimes required beasts of burden to assist the steam locomotive up the steep incline to Spring Hill.^[10] With improved transportation, Spring Hill soon became home to summer retreat hotels. The Battle brothers established their Battle House Hotel in Mobile in 1852; then soon afterwards they built another at Spring Hill called the Spring Hill Inn. It sat amidst 20 acres (8.1 ha) on the south side of Old Shell Road and included a lake and bathing pavilion. The Spring Hill Hotel opened for business in 1886. 1893 saw the completion of an electric trolley line along Old Shell Road to the intersection of what is today McGregor Avenue. After being destroyed by fire during the first decade of the twentieth century, a new, larger Spring Hill Hotel, with a tall central tower, was built in its place. It too, was destroyed by fire in 1918. The Spring Hill Inn was also destroyed by fire around this time. With the popularity of retreat hotels diminished by this time, neither structure was rebuilt.