Loxley: History and Strawberry Festival

Loxley, Alabama, combines a distinctive local history with historic buildings, amenities at Municipal Park, and the annual Baldwin County Strawberry Festival. When planning a stay, it’s worth first deciding which interests matter most: Would you like to learn more about the town’s development, attend an event, or explore park amenities and local products?

Traces of Local History

Around 1900, John Loxley, who was from Michigan, established a logging camp here among the original pine forests of south Alabama. The town got its name at that time. The Museum of Loxley reflects a later chapter in the local economy: it is housed in a former office building for A. Bertolla & Sons’ cotton gin and potato shed operations. A cotton gin once stood on the site. The museum offers a free tour about local history.

The Loxley Public Library is also housed in a historic building. It was built in 1924 as St. Raphael’s Catholic Church and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The St. Patrick’s Catholic Church–Loxley Public Library building is one of three decorative concrete-block church buildings in Baldwin County and is considered significant. Historic Jenkins Farm, listed on the national and state historic registers, offers another connection to the area’s architectural history.

The library connects this historic setting with regular programs for children: a weekly storytime is held year-round, and a summer reading program is also offered in June and July. Since schedules can change, check the latest information if either program is important to your travel plans.

Festival and Local Products

The Baldwin County Strawberry Festival takes place each year at Loxley Municipal Park and lasts two days. The festival features carnival rides and strawberry shortcakes. Admission and live music are free. If you’re planning your visit around the festival, check the dates and information about admission and live music for the year you plan to attend.

The Loxley Farm Market offers a different perspective on local agriculture. It sells fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables from its own farm and neighboring farms. The selection also includes agricultural and locally made products, such as free-range eggs, locally produced meat, and pantry goods. This makes the market a distinct option alongside the time-limited festival: the focus here is on regional products, not an event program.

Park Amenities and Getting Around

In addition to the festival, Loxley Municipal Park offers a range of recreational activities. The StoryWalk features children’s books displayed on signs along the walking path. The park is also home to the Loxley Veterans Memorial, which preserves the names of veterans and honors their service. A walking trail is 0.5 miles long, and the disc golf course has 18 holes. If you want to gauge the distance of a walk, you can use the posted length as a guide. The course, meanwhile, is described by its number of holes, offering a different kind of activity.

For travel orientation, Alabama Highway 59 is a notable landmark: it runs through downtown Loxley toward the white-sand beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. This also makes it possible to consider Loxley as part of a trip that includes these coastal destinations, without confusing the local attractions with them.

If you’re planning the timing of your hotel stay, the occasions differ: the festival is an annual two-day event; the library’s storytime takes place weekly throughout the year, and the summer reading program runs in June and July. Check the festival dates and the latest library information to plan your stay around what interests you most—whether that’s an event, local history, the market, or park amenities.

Discover more destinations: Fairhope, Perdido, Orange Beach, Spanish Fort, Bay Minette, Daphne, Gulf Shores, Foley.

For the broader travel overview: Baldwin.