Winter 2005 Newsletter

Winter Meeting to Feature Two Local Photographers

The next meeting of the Wilcox Historical Society will be held Thursday, February 10, 2005 at 3:00 P.M. at the Wilcox Female Institute. The program will be given by two local photographers, Marian Furman and Linda Selsor Etheridge and will feature Vintage Photographs of Camden and Wilcox County. The program will feature a display of the combined collections of photographs from Mrs. Furman and Ms. Etheridge. Included in the display will be Miss Edith Morgan’s fascinating photographs of Paddle Wheelers that formerly docked in Wilcox County during the mid to late l800's. The public is invited to attend this meeting and everyone is encouraged to bring old photographs to share during the program. Linda Etheridge restores old photographs and will be available for any questions that you might have.

Please plan to attend this meeting on Thursday, February 10^th and invite anyone you know who might be interested in viewing old photographs of Camden and Wilcox County!

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

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

The homes, churches, and buildings to be featured on the Pilgrimage are described below, and 3,000 brochures have been printed. Over 2,000 of the brochures have been distributed to various historical organizations to-date. The Alabama Preservation Alliance graciously distributed our brochure to their membership through a mass mail out. They have been notified of the date change. 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. To summarize, this year’s Pilgrimage is on Saturday 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 Strother/Gibbs Home

o Canton Bend Methodist Church

o Camden Presbyterian Church

o Wilcox Female Institute

o Beck/Miller Law Office

o Dunn/Fairley/Bonner Home

o GainesRidge

Dunn-Fairley-Bonner Project

Due to the withdrawal of a grant, 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. The offer was presented to the membership at the June 24 meeting and was unanimously accepted. The Fields have begun restoration work and the progress can be seen on tour day.

You may have noted the new exterior paint job and the vastly improved kitchen facilities at our last meeting. A special thanks is extended to Gail Tait for coordinating this effort. The roof is leaking, and we have received several quotes for replacement. A contractor has been selected and the roofing material has been ordered. We anticipate that the new roof installation will begin in mid to late February.

The Female Institute is available for rent for various functions, and you coordinate the requests by calling Gail Tait at 337-4756.

The Wilcox Historical Society was founded in the late 1960's with the initial goal to save and restore the Wilcox Female Institute. The primary goal of the Society continues to be to preserve the history of this region and to act in some degree as a clearing house and reference source to persons searching for genealogical information. Our local Wilcox County Public Library is the best source of genealogical information and features one of the best genealogical rooms to be found anywhere. The library staff can be reached at 334-682-4355, 100 Broad Street, Camden, AL 36726, e-mail at wcl@pinebelt.net. If research is needed, they can refer you to a local historian who can perform the research for a fee. The Historical Society may be contacted at P.O. Box 464, Camden, AL 36726. You can also e-mail us at grsouth@frontiernet.net .Our web site link may be accessed through www.wilcoxwebworks.com. The cost to join the society is $10 per person, or $15 per couple annually. Dues are payable on September 1 of each year.

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