Spring 2005 Newsletter  

Upcoming Events

Spring Meeting to Feature Program by Mrs. Camilla Selsor                                    

The next meeting of the Wilcox Historical Society will be held Friday, April 22, 2005 at 3:00 P.M. at the home of Pie and Billy Malone located at 425 Clifton Street in Camden. Mrs. Camilla Boykin Jones Selsor will present a program of “historic recollections” from her perspective.

Camilla was born on June 12, 1908 to Marie McDaniel Miller Jones and Dr. James Heustis Jones in Camden.  She finished high school after 11 grades at age 15.  Camilla then attended Judson College and graduated at age 19.  The following year she was a student at American University in Washington, D.C.  After the year in Washington, she pursued a masters’s degree at the University of Alabama.  

Camilla married and had four daughters.  She later remarried and had a daughter and a son.  Her second husband, Jack Selsor, died on October 15, 1946.  At that time she returned to Camden and worked as a case worker for the Wilcox County Welfare Department.  After two years, Camilla was given permission to go to graduate school at Tulane University to become Director of the Welfare Department.  She served in this position for twenty-eight years before retiring on March 31, 1977.  

Please plan to attend this meeting and invite anyone you know who might be interested in this unique presentation.

In addition to Mrs. Selsor’s program, we plan to have Delia Brand, director of Blackbelt Treasures, give a brief overview of this new business which is scheduled to open in October of this year.

Wilcox Historical Society 2005 Spring Pilgrimage - May 14 !!!                   

As everyone is aware, our Fall Pilgrimage was cancelled due to Hurricane Ivan.  It was  rescheduled as a Spring Pilgrimage as noted.           

The homes, churches, and buildings to be featured on the Pilgrimage are described below, and 3,600 brochures have been printed, with the majority of these distributed throughout Alabama.  William Malone has placed the entire brochure on our designated Wilcox Historical Society link to the www.wilcoxwebworks.com site.  Please go online and check out the brochure large scale. A special thank you is extended to Sister Curry for coordinating with the homeowners, and to the homeowners for placing their homes on tour. Please note this years Pilgrimage is on Saturday, May 14 from 9:30 AM until 5:00 PM. Following are the featured buildings and sites: 

 

o Dry Fork Plantation

o Beck/Bryant/Talbot Home

o Youpon Plantation

o Bagby-Liddell-Burford Home

o Lenoir-Pritchett-Bush-Grods Home

o Canton Bend Methodist Church

o Camden Presbyterian Church

o Wilcox Female Institute

o Beck/Miller Law Office

o Dunn-Fairley-Bonner-Field Home

o GainesRidge Dinner Club


Dunn-Fairley-Bonner Project  

Due to the withdrawal of a grant received from the Alabama Historical Commission,  the Executive Board of the Society recommended that the building and grounds be placed on the open market, with a buyer being required  to follow the preservation guidelines established in Richard Hudgens’ restoration package.  This was done and an offer from Mr. and Mrs. Blake Field was received in mid-June 2004.  The offer was presented to the membership at the June 24, 2004 meeting and was unanimously accepted. The Fields are well along with  restoration work (new roof already) and the overall progress can be observed on tour day.

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Wilcox Historical Society.....dedicating to preserving the history of Wilcox County, Alabama.
P.O. BOX 464, CAMDEN, AL 36726 ~ PHONE 334-682-9825 ~ FAX 334-682-9387
E-MAIL: grsouth@frontiernet.net