Protecting the History at the Magee Farm with Living History part of Alabama Tourism
In 1848 Jacob Magee built a farmhouse and related building constructed with black slave labor for his family. The construction of the house 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 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 attractions that you will need to include on your Alabama travel itinerary.
Along side the main house there was a store; post office, bath house and school room on the complex. However the only remaining buildings are the house and the schoolroom – the heritage of those times lives on with the displays that are set for you to see. It was the largest private homestead for several miles when it was completed.
The primary house was designed with some fascinating designs. There is a center porch that has 2 bedroom entrances leading onto it. One of these bedrooms has a door on the porch but no entrance into the main portion of the house. It was built to provide travelers and guests that were non members of the family a safe place to sleep without them being able to enter the family’s private areas. The other bedroom has an entry on the porch but also one that opens into the formal dining area. Obviously this extra bedroom was used by family members that arrived to visit or friends that the family 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 shuting the sliding pocket doors. The entryway of the house opened onto both the center and the back porch. The school room was attached to the rear veranada. This building is now the museum of the property. On the second floor are two large sleeping rooms, each including their own fireplace. For heat, the house has a total of 5 fireplaces. Imagine keeping enough wood to maintain 5 fireplaces running all winter!!
The kitchen was out back but attached to the remainder of the house by the rear porch. It was common to have the kitchen removed from the house proper to keep the heat out of the main house. Behind the cookhouse was the outhouse so when the outhouse 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 attractions in Alabama. The farmstead is also the location of the Living History and Battle Reenactment – both in the spring and the fall.
