Note: All year, Baldwin County has celebrated its bicentennial. This is the last of a four-part series chronicling some of the county’s 200-year history and examining where leaders are looking to start the next 200.

BAY MINETTE — As Baldwin County's bicentennial year draws to a close, county leaders and historians are looking forward and wondering what the next 200 years may hold for the county.

Baldwin County Commissioner Frank Burt said the diversity that has defined Baldwin County during the last 200 years will be instrumental in a successful future for the county.

"This county is built on diversity, not like so many places where one big city dominates the rest of the county," he said, noting that because all 14 municipalities in Baldwin County are on a level playing field, all municipal governments work together with the county to bring industry to the area.

"This county began with the Greeks, the Swedes, the Italians, agriculture … the fishing industry. That (diversity) is what helps us," he said. "That will make us a little less prone to get caught up in the economic downturn."

Burt said for many years the county has depended on retirees and tourists to support it, but said economic diversity can already be seen in the announcement of a new Hybrid Kinetic Motors auto plant and the continued development of the megasite north of Bay Minette.

HK Motors is an automobile plant that will produce cars that run on natural gas. The megasite industrial park, completed and certified this year, is often a requirement for many industries.

Economic diversity is exactly what Burt says he believes is in store for the county.

"We need to balance this out so that we don't depend so much on tourism and retirees," he said. “We have a great opportunity to improve our infrastructure, and with the connector road from the beach to (Interstate) 65 we have a great opportunity for industrial development," he said.

"Good, environmentally friendly, green industrial jobs — that's what we hope for," he added. "The Economic Development Alliance is working toward environmentally friendly, high-paying jobs."

HK Motors announced its intentions to build the new plant in Bay Minette in September. The plant eventually will produce 300,000 cars per year, each one running on clean fuel that leaves a much smaller impact on the environment.

"We really can't imagine, it's a totally new technology that allows automobiles to run on natural gas,” Burt said. “We know we have a 100-year reserve of natural gas. Making the switch from gasoline to the cleaner natural gas is environmentally friendly.”

He said the company has indicated it will be ready to break ground in March, kick-starting the new year with a boon of jobs and income.

"That will be an investment of a lot of money the first of the year, an investment of billions of dollars. That could solve the school problems," he said, referring to the Baldwin County School System's deficit.

"The sales and use tax on that construction will be huge," he said.

Bay Minette mayor Jamie Tillery said the goal of luring businesses like HK Motors to Baldwin County is not just to create jobs in a recession, but to facilitate long-term investments in the community.

Tillery is a proponent of the I-10/I-65 connector road, and Bay Minette has hosted two public hearings on the potential construction. Adding a new thoroughfare to cut through the county just east of town, she said, opens up a whole new area for new businesses.

And while new construction provides short-term benefits to the city and county, it’s the long-term effects Tillery has eyed for Bay Minette.

“Our goal for the future is not just to create jobs, but to build careers to encourage families to settle here and make Bay Minette their home,” Tillery said. “We are taking a crisis and turning it into opportunity.

“We have initiated so many programs and with no money, but it is all because of the planning and work ethic of our city employees, and I see nowhere to go but up.”

Though he couldn't reveal details, Burt said another industry is giving Baldwin County a hard look for possible location.

"Out of 40 sites, we're among the final three for another industry to locate," he said. "It's another industry with new technology, clean jobs and high-paying jobs and would be right here in North Baldwin County."

The commissioner said a new panhandle alliance which will allow South Alabama to work with Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana to bring industry to the region will help move the county forward.

"That offers us a great opportunity to create jobs," he said. "And with ThyssenKrupp (steel) located just across the delta, the new automobile plant, we have a megasite certified … the connector built up to (Interstate) 65, the new docks and (Mobile's) growth, we're sitting over here in a position to take advantage of all that," he said.

"Personally, I am excited about what lies ahead in the next three years,” he said. “I've seen a lot of ups and downs. I was born in the middle of the Depression, I've seen the stock market ups and downs and through the years we've survived and come out stronger. I believe we will do so this time. I have high hopes."

Historian and author Harriet Outlaw, who with John Lewis produced the book “Images of America: Baldwin County,” looks at the County from a different perspective. While looking ahead will help ensure a secure future, Outlaw said she also believes the county will see a return to its past.

"I think the future of Baldwin County will hold a return to the values of our ancestors, perhaps as a combination of factors today, such as the economic influence," she said. "Families are once again making memories that will be passed down through generations to come."

Outlaw said residents seem to be paying more attention to the history of their home and their heritage, and will hopefully keep it alive through their children.

"I am seeing my own children treasure the stories I tell them of their heritage and of those things that make Baldwin County such an incredible place to call home," she said.

"My grandchildren are wanting to learn of the past and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my memories with them."

She said sharing those stories not only keeps the county's rich history alive, but encourages family bonding.

"(I) encourage all families to tell these stories and spend time together talking, and talking and talking," she said.