Rembering the Pat at the Magee Farm with Battle Reenactments part of Alabama Tourism

In 1848 Jacob Magee had a farmhouse and related building constructed by 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 needed little help or maintenance from that day to the present. The 2 story house 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 need to include on your Alabama travel schedule.

Along side the main house there was also a commissary; post office, bathhouse and school room on the complex. Although the only remaining buildings 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 main house was designed with some fascinating designs. There is a center veranda that has 2 sleeping room entrances leading onto it. One of these bedrooms has a door on the veranda but no entrance into the main area of the house. It was built to offer travelers and guests that were not members of the family a safe room to sleep without them being able to access the family’s private home. The other bedroom has an entry on the veranda but also one that opens into the formal dining area. Of course this extra bedroom was used by family members that came to visit or acquaintances that they wanted to have access to the rest of the house.

There is also a parlor room that could be closed off with either a curtain or by shuting the sliding pocket doors. The entryway of the house opened into both the center and the front veranda. The schoolroom was attached to the back veranada. This building is now the museum of the facility. Up on the second floor are two large bedrooms, each with their own fireplace. For warmth, the house has a total of five fireplaces. Imagine keeping enough firewood to keep five fireplaces running all winter!!

The kitchen was out back but connected to the rest of the house by the back veranda. It was common to have the kitchen removed from the house proper to keep the heat out of the main house. Next to the cookhouse was 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 attractions in Alabama. The farm is also the site of the Living History and Battle Reenactment - both in the spring and the fall.