
![]() The Malbis Plantation Historic District encompasses an expansive agricultural complex that is threatened by insensitive commercial development. The Historic District is located less than a half-mile south of I-10 on AL 181 at US 90. Malbis Plantation is on the Alabama and the National Register. The plantation encompasses one of the largest and best preserved collections of agricultural buildings in Baldwin County, and perhaps in the state. Twenty-six buildings remain from this commercial complex, with the architectural crown jewels being the Big House (1906), the Tampary-Simmons House (1928), the Greek Orthodox Malbis Memorial Church (1965), and the Malbis Cemetery located south of the church. Malbis Plantation is unique to Greek-Amercian history, serving as one few examples of Greeks choosing to establish themselves in an agrarian community in the south. Locally, Malbis Plantation is an example of a common settlement pattern among immigrants pursuing agriculture and livestock in central and south Baldwin County in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
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The Braxton Bragg Comer Bridge carries Alabama highway 35 over the Tennessee River at Scottsboro. It was nominated by the Comer Bridge Foundation because this rare engineering achievement is scheduled for demolition by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) once it is replaced later this year. ALDOT remains committed to the demolition of the
Comer bridge despite an agreement in principle between the Comer Bridge Foundation and the demolition company to allow the demolition funds to be diverted to preserve the bridge, and an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard not to require demolition of the memorial structure if Coast Guard requirements are met. Although Federal law does not require it, ALDOT insists that the bridge ownership must be a government entity. Efforts are in progress to persuade the city and county governments to form a tourism authority to promote tourism, as well as assume ownership of the bridge. The Land Trust of North Alabama has expressed interest in exploring the possibility of including the B. B. Comer Bridge as part of a hiking/biking trail between Huntsville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. Forney Hall, a gracious brick dormitory built in the Classical Revival style in 1927, was one of four major buildings of Jacksonville State Normal School, a two-year institution that trained elementary school teachers in Jacksonville. In 1930, the school became a four-year teachers college and moved to its present campus north of the City center and Forney Hall became a dormitory for married student housing. In later years, the college grew to become Jacksonville State University.
![]() The Sadler House and Sadler Cemetery, McCalla, werenominated by the West Jefferson County Historical Society, which owns the Sadler House, because the house needs a new roof in order to protect the structure from exterior and interior deterioration. The nearby cemetery is abandoned and at risk of vandalism. |
Alabama's Endangered Historic LandmarksEach year since 1994, Alabama Heritage has highlighted threatened historic sites throughout Alabama. The “Places in Peril” list has identified more than 215 imperiled historic resources throughout the state, and is compiled by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation. The locations highlight the results of deferred maintenance, perceived obsolescence, development pressures, and lack of funding—forces that now more than ever threaten our cultural legacy. But awareness is a powerful force, too, and can cultivate a renewed determination to be responsible stewards of our heritage. For more information, visit the AHC or the ATHP websites. Alabama Heritage is proud to bring to you a selection of the places designated as perilous. Please keep your comments to information relevant to the featured place in peril. Alabama Heritage reserves the right to delete any comment that we deem inappropriate. Archives
May 2023
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