Protecting the Heritage at the Magee Farm with Living History part of Alabama Tourism
Preserving the History at the Magee Farm with Living History part of Alabama Tourism
In 1848 Mr. Jacob had a farmhouse and related buildings constructed with black slave labor for his family. The construction of the house and buildings was so good that from that date to the present day the house has needed little help or repair from that day to the present. The 2 story building was the home of 4 different families over the decades before being designated a living history and museum site for the city of Kushla. The Magee Farm is one of those places that you will want to put on your Alabama travel guide itinerary.
Besides the main house there was also a commissary; post office, bathhouse and school room on the complex. Although the only buildings still remaining are the house and the schoolroom - the heritage of those times lives on with the displays that are presented for you to see. It was the largest private residence for many miles when it was completed.
The primary house was designed with some fascinating plans. There is a center veranda that has 2 bedroom entrances leading onto it. One of these bedrooms has a door on the veranda but no entryway into the main portion of the house. It was built to provide travelers and guests that were non members of the family a safe room to reside without them being able to access the family’s private areas. The other bedroom has a door on the veranda but also an entry that leads into the formal dining room. Of course this room was used by family members that arrived to visit or friends that the family wanted to have access to the rest of the home.
There is also a parlor that could be closed off with either a curtain or by shuting the sliding pocket doors. The entryway of the home opened into both the center and the back veranda. The school room is attached to the rear porch. This room is now the museum for the facility. On the second floor are two large sleeping rooms, each including their own fireplace. For heat, the home has a total of 5 fireplaces. Imagine chopping enough firewood to keep 5 fireplaces burning all winter!!
The kitchen was out back but attached to the remainder of the home by the rear veranda. It was typical to have the kitchen removed from the home proper to keep the heat out of the main house. Behind the cookhouse is the outhouse so when the outhouse needed to be used it could require quite a run in the dark or cold to get to the outhouse when nature called.
Today, it is on the most popular Alabama attractions. The farmstead is also the site of the Living History and Battle Reenactment - both in the spring and the fall.