Little House on a Hill

I remember this day. Not sure why really. A cool, crisp and quite sunny day in late January. Another one of those "Let's burn through a lotta gas and hope we get lucky" days. I found myself in Weogufka, Alabama. I had seen the turnoff from some highway somewhere. I don't know. Maybe Highway 280. There's not a lot there really. Just a crossroads with a single active store called Caperton's Old South General Store and Pawn Shop. It's an interesting little place and surprisingly busy for being...well, not gonna say the middle of nowhere. We'll just say a remote outpost in southern Coosa County. I inquired of the owner if he knew of anything in the area. Things I'm looking for. He made sure I knew they use everything there and why would anyone care about old abandoned things? I thanked him for his time and headed off still with no idea where to go. Heading north on Hwy 29 I saw a sign for Marbletown. Well that's an interesting name. Too bad it doesn't exist. I've seen this several times. The state will leave a sign up for some place that doesn't exist anymore and I can only assume the locals will still know. So you know, I did search Google maps but that was no help. 

 Now you may ask. Why am I saying all this? Good question for which I have no real answer. Well, that's not exactly true. As I said earlier I was on my way to Marbletown when I saw the little house on the hill.

It was...well...is remarkably intact. But this house has something going for it that I suspect few houses anywhere do. Imagine life 70 years ago when there was no Walmart. Or grocery store. Or hardware store. No civilization of any kind really. I'm not saying nothing within 100 miles of course. But when a trip to town was a major event. This was a time when you learned to be self-sufficient. Lived off the land and prepared for anything. And this place had pretty much everything. There was a well so you always had water. And lots of storage. And stored food. I have no idea how long it had been there. Needless to say I was stunned when I saw the canned fruits still intact in their Mason Jars. Preserved for years. They looked as though you could open any one of them and have something to eat. So you know, I didn't touch them. Who knows how long they've been sitting here exposed to many a cold winter followed a scorching Alabama summer.  But it was truly remarkable seeing this preserved moment in time.

There were several out buildings here. Nothing that resembled a barn really. Jut mostly storage buildings. The lock at the right served a purpose at one time keeping out anyone who might help themselves. What you don't see is that the structure is mostly gone. I just liked it because it made a cool picture. The outhouse above is in really good condition. Yes I opened the door and looked inside. Half way expected to see corn cobs or an old Sears catalog. Nope. Just a wooden bench with the appropriate opening.

The interior was a mixture of very good to very poor condition. There was no kitchen to speak of. It did have electricity at one time but even that was quite a long time ago. There was a double fireplace in the middle of the house. It faced the front room and the bedroom behind it  both sharing a common flue. I'm betting it made the whole house fairly warm. At least i hope so since there was no such thing as insulation in any wall I saw. There was even some old clothing hanging on the wall of the bedroom. I suppose what the Sears catalog had to offer in 1953.

As I walked through this property it seemed a bit surreal. Why was the canned fruit still there? Why didn't the jars freeze and break? Why was that dress still hanging on the wall? The outhouse. It was in remarkably good condition. It was as if much of this was frozen in time. Like the junkyard I mentioned in my first blog. As if it was abandoned in 1965 and time stood still. 

I love what I do. Who knew things like this still existed?

While I was there I heard a rifle go off in the distance. Funny thing is I didn't give it a second thought. It was near the end of deer hunting season and the the numerous trucks I saw parked just off the road told me the woods were alive with hunters. All part of living in Alabama. A gun shot in the woods doesn't even phase me.

My last picture was my adventure of the day. I told Mr Garmin I wanted to go to Clanton and this is the way it sent me. Yep, this is a real road and I will "assume" maintained by Coosa County. 6.2 miles of mud. And yeah, there was some places that called for a running start and don't stop or you're screwed. Happy I own a truck and have a little experience driving in questionable conditions...