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August 3rd, 2009 by KittyKitty

Rembering the Heritage at the Magee Farm with Living History part of Alabama History

In 1848 Mr. Jacob built a farmhouse and related building constructed with black slave labor for his family. The construction of the farmstead and buildings was of such high quality that from that date to the present day the house needed minimal help or repair from that day to the present. The two story house 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 need to put on your Alabama travel schedule.

Besides the main house there was a commissary; post office, bathhouse and school house on the grounds. 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 homestead for many counties when it was completed.

The primary house was designed with some fascinating plans. There is a front porch that has two sleeping room entrances leading onto it. One of these sleeping rooms has a door on the porch but no entrance into the main area of the house. It was designed to offer travelers and guests that were non members of the family a safe place to reside without them being able to access the family’s private home. The other bedroom has an entry on the porch but also one that leads into the formal dining room. Obviously this extra bedroom was used by family members that came to visit or acquaintances that they wanted to allow access to the interior of the home.

There is another parlor that could be closed off with either a curtain or by shuting the sliding wooden doors. The entryway of the home opened onto both the front and the front porch. The school room is attached to the rear porch. This building is now the museum for the property. Up on the second floor are two large sleeping rooms, each with their own fireplace. For warmth, the home has a total of 5 fireplaces. Imagine keeping enough wood to keep 5 fireplaces running all winter!!

The kitchen was out back but connected to the remainder of the home by the rear porch. 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 facilities 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 attractions in Alabama. The farmstead is also the site of the Living History and Battle Reenactment – both in the spring and the fall.