The Ackerville Baptist Church of Christ congregation joined the Bethlehem Association of Baptist Churches in 1844 with twenty-eight members. Membership had risen to seventy-nine by 1847, and in 1848, the church completed construction of a church in Oak Hill. The nearby community of Ackerville experienced greater growth after the Civil War and the congregation decided to relocate. In 1866, the church was taken apart piece by piece and reassembled in its current location. The years between 1850 and 1894 were fruitful ones for the church, with membership rising to 103, but by 1920, membership had begun to decline. In 1943, membership had dropped to sixteen, and the church ceased regular meetings.
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Constructed in 1915, the Tanner Williams Old School-house is in the heart of the rural community of Tanner Williams in Mobile County. In July 1914, the Mobile County School Board of Education recommended that a school be built for the consolidation of the Tanner School and the Williams School. J. J. Tanner donated the land and constructed the school building. Workers also dismantled a portion of the former Williams School and rebuilt it on the new site.
Dupree School was constructed in 1904. Simon B. Harper bought forty acres of land from B. M. Hamrick, B. Z. Hamrick, and Rosa Hamrick on October 19, 1904, with one acre set aside for the school. The schoolhouse educated community children in grades one through six. Dupree School is a typical rural school building featuring a large classroom that can be separated into two rooms by folding doors. The building sits on brick piers and has wood clapboard siding. The school operated until the late 1940s or early 1950s. On November 3, 1953, the state of Alabama transferred ownership of the building to the Center Community Club, and the building became its meeting place.
Local builder Peyton D. Wilson completed construction on Hotel Wilson in 1914. In its heyday, the hotel offered travelers a modern and convenient place to stay. The hotel originally featured forty-two rooms, a lobby, a dining room, and a cellar. The construction of Lay Dam on the nearby Coosa River in 1913 resulted in a boom period for Clanton. Lay Dam garnered national recognition as a leading producer of hydroelectric power, and people flocked from other parts of the state and country to relocate near the dam. Many of these people spent their first days, weeks, and even months residing at Hotel Wilson before settling into their homesteads. Like many small-town businesses in Alabama, the hotel began to decline once the railroad phased out passenger lines and closed in the mid-1970s. Located across the now inactive railroad tracks, the hotel building has seen little activity in the past fifty years.
Mellow Valley School was constructed in 1910 for the Mellow Valley community. The school not only served grades one through twelve but also was the hub of the community and surrounding area. Several buildings were added over the years, including an agricultural building, gymnasium, and lunchroom. The school closed in 2003 and sat vacant until the Mellow Valley Alumni & Friends Association obtained the property from the Clay County Board of Education in 2014.
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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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