
![]() The Oaks is among the Tuscumbia area's earliest and most important plantations. The complex includes the original ca. 1820 house, the attached ca. 1825–32 main house, and a very early log kitchen. Although the current owner restored the buildings in the 1960s, she is unable to maintain them today. Deteriorated siding, broken chimneys and shutters, peeling paint, and sagging floors illustrate the critical need for repair. The Oaks Plantation has a rich history. Some time between 1820 and 1825, Abraham Ricks and his family arrived in Alabama from North Carolina along with about thirty other families. Ricks moved into a two-room log house on the site and later added a second floor and a porch. Around 1825 a new house on a raised “English basement” was constructed about twenty feet to the rear of the existing structure. Much of the work was done by slave labor, including the carved stairway, doors, and windows. A wide open hall, later enclosed, connected the old and new houses.
1 Comment
3/11/2023 12:35:39 pm
What happen to the slave, who where the slave, how much did the slave get paid for building the house and is there any one related to the slave still living in the area?
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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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