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Bagby-Beck-Liddell House at Camden, AL (c. 1851)

Antebellum | Camden in Wilcox County  

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Arthur Pendleton Bagby, who served two terms as Governor of Alabama (1837 and 1839) and later as a U. S. Senator, moved to Camden in 1853.  He contracted with Henry F. Cook to build a home “befitting a man of position”.  They agreed to a price of $3,750 to be paid in three installments.  Unfortunately, Bagby could not make the payments and the property was sold at public auction to Thomas King Beck to satisfy Mr. Cook’s lien.  (Beck was the nephew of Vice President William Rufus King.)

This house was also the home of memoirist Viola Goode Liddell and her family from 1932 until her death in 1998.

This two-story house features square box columns, a hallmark of Cook, and has supporting timbers that are secured by mortised joints and wooden pegs.  The floors are 6-inch pine.

This house was photographed and recorded in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1936. It is located in Camden on the west side of Broad Street approximately 0.8 mile NW of courthouse square (Google Maps).

This is a private residence – drive by only.

B&W photographs courtesy U. S. Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: E. W. Russell, Date: June 17, 1936.

Sources: 1) Wilcox Historical Society, 2) The Alabama Catalog, A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State, by Robert Gamble; 3) encyclopediaofalabama.org/bagby-liddell-burford-house.

Tags: alabama, antebellum, black belt, camden, house, wilcox county

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About This Website

Welcome to rural southwest Alabama. This website is dedicated to twelve counties located in rural southwest Alabama which includes a large portion of Alabama’s Black Belt area. This region is known for its rich and diverse heritage, historic homes and churches, and natural beauty. This website contains details about historic and interesting places that you will find in this area of Alabama.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MOST OF THE HOMES INCLUDED ARE PRIVATE RESIDENCES AND, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ARE DRIVE BY ONLY.

We hope that you enjoy this website.

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Dedicated to the memory of Stacy Milstead Henson (1978-2008) & Inez “Sis” Watts (1924-2007).

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