The Oaks (Colbert County, Alabama)

The Oaks (also known as Abraham Ricks Plantation) is a historic residence near Tuscumbia in Colbert County, Alabama. Ricks came to North Alabama from Halifax, North Carolina in the early 1820s. He acquired a large plantation which he sold in 1826 and purchased nearby land, which was worked by the forced labour of enslaved people who he had brought with him. A log house had been built on the new property circa 1818, and Ricks built a new, larger house connected to it which was completed in 1832. The house remained in the family until 1966, and is still in use as a private residence.

The Oaks
The house in a 1935 HABS photo
The Oaks (Colbert County, Alabama) is located in Alabama
The Oaks (Colbert County, Alabama)
The Oaks (Colbert County, Alabama) is located in the United States
The Oaks (Colbert County, Alabama)
Nearest cityTuscumbia, Alabama
Coordinates34°40′27″N 87°35′36″W
Area7.7 acres (3.1 ha)
Built1818 (1818)
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No.76000319[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 7, 1976

The original house is a 1+12-story log structure covered with weatherboards. Exterior chimneys rest in each gable end, and a shed roofed porch projects from the rear of the house. The log house is connected to the two-story main house by a one-story, gable roofed hall with two exterior doors and windows matching those of the main house. The front façade of the main house is five bays wide, with a central portico supported by two square columns and topped with a deck. The twin-leaf door is surrounded by sidelights and a transom; a similar door with sidelights opens to the deck above. The portico is flanked by a pair of twelve-over-twelve sash windows on each side on both floors. The interior has a center-hall layout with one room on either side of a main hall.[2]

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. Floyd, W. Warner; Ellen Mertins (April 27, 1976). "The Oaks". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015. See also: "Accompanying photos". Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.


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