Old Wilcox County church and school listed on state's 'Places in Peril' list

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Community Day School

One of my favorite magazines is Alabama Heritage, and I always make sure to read it from cover to cover. The latest issue of Alabama Heritage featured an article marking the 25^th anniversary of the state’s “Places in Peril” list, which has “profiled more than 250 (historic) places that have suffered from neglect, indifference and insensitive development.” The list is published annually and is the result of a partnership between the Alabama Historical Commission, the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and Alabama Heritage magazine.

The recent “Places in Peril” article in Alabama Heritage, which was written by Michael W. Panhorst, discusses places on the list that have been saved, partially saved, lost and partially lost. The article also contains a section of places “Still In Peril,” which I think will be of especial interest to history buffs in Wilcox County.

Among these places considered “Still In Peril” is a list of Historic African American Schools, including the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Community Day School in Wilcox County’s Hamburg community. For those of you unfamiliar with Hamburg, this community is located in eastern Wilcox County, between Oak Hill and Snow Hill.

The Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Community Day School was first listed on the “Places in Peril” list nine years ago, way back in 2009. One day last week, I went digging through my stack of old Alabama Heritage magazines and found the original article on this historic property at Hamburg. According to that article, this church was built in 1912 and was the only African American Baptist congregation in the Hamburg community. The school, which is located adjacent to the church, was built in 1915 and served the community for decades.

As best that I could determine, at least three other Wilcox County properties have been listed on the state’s “Places in Peril” list, going back to the first list in 1994. Those properties include the Snow Hill Institute, the Thomas Dunn House in Camden and Pine Apple’s downtown historic district.

Dating back to 1893, the Snow Hill Institute was placed on the “Places in Peril” list in 1995 due to structural deterioration, lack of funds for restoration and the abandonment of many structures on the property. Going back to the early 1900s, Pine Apple’s downtown historic district was placed on the list in 1998 due to the needed restoration of four old commercial buildings and a livery stable in the town’s historic district.

The Thomas Dunn House dates back to the 1830s and was placed on the “Places in Peril” list in 2001 due to structural deterioration and poor maintenance. This property is actually considered a big success story when it comes to the “Places in Peril” list. It’s now considered a “saved” property as it was restored by the Wilcox Historical Society and sold.

In the end, I think you can say that having a location listed on the “Places in Peril” list is a good thing. Not only does it bring a historic location into the public eye, but it also draws attention to the fact that the property is in need of some tender loving care. As evidenced by the fact that the Thomas Dunn House is considered a “Places in Peril” success story, there’s nothing to say that the other Wilcox County properties on the list won’t benefit in the same way.