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All That Remains


When James and Sarah Jackson decided to help settle the wilderness of North Alabama in the early 1800s, they chose the best site in the county for their mansion. They named their new mansion Forks of Cypress, probably because two branches of Cypress Creek ran together not far from there.



The mansion was built by skilled artisans, who built a safe and beautiful place. Located on a hill, it is said there was always a breeze blowing across the porches that encircled the house. James and Sarah raised a big family there.



Unlike many such mansions in the area, the Forks of Cypress was left unharmed during the Civil War. What it could not survive was a common summer thunderstorm.



In June 1966, the mansion was struck by lightning. The Forks of Cypress, with its antiques and memories, burned to the ground in less than thirty minutes. What a loss for our community!


The completely symmetrical brick columns are all that remain today.

Comments

  1. lil red henOctober 25, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Oh, that is a terrible loss!! Have you seen pictures of the original house? It would be interesting to see something dating from before the Civil War.

    ReplyDelete

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