10 June 2012

Choose your own adventure: Bibb County

If you know anything about me, you know I love to explore. And if I can sink my claws into you for long enough, I will drag you on an adventure of an historical nature. I've dragged Mary Ruth into a gulley to explore the ruins of an old school, sneaked underneath an antebellum house when she wasn't looking, wandered endlessly through various cemeteries, traipsed around miles of city sidewalk (in August and January), and into the woods to explore an abandoned WPA park. I've dragged my ex-boyfriend to all four Bryce Hospital cemeteries, an abandoned waterworks plant, and on a disastrous expedition to try to locate an abandoned lumber town. My family has been subjected to cemeteries, forts, churches, lighthouses, museums, battlefields, and monuments. If you're really lucky, I've merely dragged you to an antique store or show.


But if you're in town (or anywhere else in the state) this summer, you should take the chance and go exploring. Choose one of these sites on the Alabama Register of Historic Places. There's at least one near you, I guarantee! Or you can just venture out on your own, and try to find something.


If you've been to any of these sites, or have any information about them, please feel free to share! If you decide to go exploring, let me know what you discover! I plan to go compile information on sites from every county in Alabama, starting with West Central Alabama. I'll get to them all eventually, but if you want to read the reports yourself, you can find the entire list at The Alabama Historical Commission.




Name. Bibb Co Training School
AKA. Davidson High School, Centreville Elementary School
Town. Centreville
Important to. Black history, education, prominent educator
Date. 1889
Use. School
Ownership status. Public
Site. Original
Interior condition. Excellent
Exterior condition. Excellent
Endangered? No
Visible from road? Yes



Name. Brierfield Coal & Iron Co Superintendent’s House
City. Brierfield
Status. Occupied
Accessible? Yes, restricted
Address. 13728 Montevallo Rd Brierfield, AL 35035
Construction date. 1882
Alteration date. 1897, 2010
Builder. Herman Pfaff
Condition. Excellent
Remaining historic fabric. Medium
Historic use. Residence
Current use. Office space
Alterations? Moved to present site in 2010
Setting. Located within the Brierfield Historic Ironworks Park
Important to. Industry

Name. Green Pond Presbyterian Church & Cemetery
AKA. Bethany Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Address. 65 Presbyterian Church Rd Green Pond, AL 35074
Ownership. Private
Status. Occupied
Present use. Religious
Owner. Green Pond Presbyterian Congregation, 65 Presbyterian Church Rd, PO 100, Green Pond, AL 35074
Condition. Excellent
Altered? Yes
Period. 1800-99
Significance. Architecture, religion, funerary art
Date. 1884

Name. James Wallace Mason House
AKA. Mason House
Location. AL Hwy 5, five miles south of the intersection of AL 5 and US 82. Brent, AL
Ownership. Private
Status. Occupied
Accessible? Yes, unrestricted
Present use. Commercial
Owner. B & C Leasing, LLC
Condition. Excellent
Altered? Yes
Site. Original
Period. 1800-99
Significance. Architecture
Date. 1889

Name. Bibb Co Junior High School
AKA. Bibb Co High School
NOTE! DESTROYED BY FIRE DEC 2008
Address. 335 Walnut St, Centreville
Present use. Education-Junior High
Historic use. Education-High School
Condition. Good
Integrity. Original site
Threats. None
Surroundings. Open land, scattered buildings
Significance. Events-local and state, architecture
Date. 1909

Name. Sandy Chapel Methodist Church
Location. Church St, Hwy 82 E
Town. Centreville, 4 miles E on 82
Use. Religious
Ownership. Private
Condition. Good
Integrity. Original site
Surroundings. Woodland
Significance. Events-local, state, national; architecture
Date. 1910

Name. Ellison House
AKA. Vance House
Address. 365 Birmingham Rd, Centreville 35042
Use. Private residence
Condition. Excellent
Surrounding. Residential
Significance. Events-local, architecture
Date. 1899

Name. West Blocton Commercial District
Location. Main St, West Blocton
Ownership. Public & private
Status. Occupied & unoccupied
Accessible. Yes, restricted & no
Present use. Commercial, vacant
Condition. Good, ruins
Date. 1927 (all but 2), 1922, 1950
Significance. Architecture
Inventory. Lemley’s Automotive, Bell Telephone, World Karate, Blocton Masonic Lodge, DOE Israel Store, Callahan Taxidermist, Cahaba Lily Center, IRA Grocery, West Blocton Savings Bank, Wood’s Café, Ben Jenette Pool Room, Pope Dry Cleaners/City Hall, Smith Hardware, Riley’s Café, Hardware Store/Blue Front Grocery, Mildred’s Flower Shop, The Wash Tub Laundromat, Allen Furniture & Undertaking/Old Yellow Front Grocery, Jack’s Discount Pharmacy, Gillespie Furniture Store, John Kren Grocery, City Hall/Fire Station/Rice’s Grocery & Meat Market, Lawley’s Beauty Shop, vacant, Fire Station (ruins), Prudice’s Beauty Parlor, Southern Bell Telephone Exchange/Doctor’s Office, Murphy’s Drug Store, Bully’s Barber Shop, West Blocton Theatre/Strand Theatre, Ben Edmonds Cleaners & Tailor, Brown Frederick Chevrolet Dealership


Name. Woodstock United Methodist Church
AKA. Methodist Episcopal Church South
Location. Corner of Strickland Drive, on hill S of Woodstock PO, Bibb Co
Access. Public
Condition. Excellent
Surrounding. Scattered
Significance. Events-local, state, architecture
Style. Country Gothic
Date. 1893



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