Rembering the History at the Magee Farm with Living History part of Alabama Heritage
In 1848 Jacob Magee had 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 has needed little help or maintenance from that day to the present. The two story building was the home of four different families over the years before being designated a living history and museum site for the city of Kushla. The Magee Farm is one of those attractions that you will want to include on your Alabama travel guide itinerary.
Besides the main house there was a store; post office, bath house and school house on the grounds. Although the only remaining buildings are the house and the schoolroom - the heritage of those times lives on with the exhibits that are set for you to see. It was the largest private residence for many counties when it was finished.
The main house was designed with some fascinating designs. There is a front veranda that has two bedroom doors leading onto it. One of these sleeping rooms has a doorway on the veranda but no entrance into the main portion of the house. It was designed to provide travelers and guests that were non family members a safe room to sleep without them being able to enter the family’s private home. The other bedroom has a door on the veranda but also an entry that leads into the formal living room. Obviously this room was used by family members that came to visit or friends that they wanted to have access to the interior of the house.
There is another parlor that could be closed off with either a curtain or by closing the sliding wooden doors. The entryway of the house opened onto both the front and the front veranda. The schoolroom is attached to the rear porch. This room is now the museum for the facility. On the second floor are two large bedrooms, each with their own fireplace. For warmth, the house has a total of 5 fireplaces. Imagine chopping enough wood to maintain 5 fireplaces burning all winter!!
The cookhouse was out back but connected to the remainder of the house by the rear veranda. It was common to have the cookhouse removed from the house 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 be quite a walk in the dark or cold to get to the outhouse when nature called.
Today, it is on the most popular Alabama attractions. The farm is also the site of the Living History and Battle Reenactment - both in the spring and the fall.