April 5, 1980

Ownership of Magnolia Grove, a historic site and museum in Greensboro, was transferred by the state to the Alabama Historical Commission. Magnolia Grove is a rare example of the pedimented temple form of Greek Revival architecture in Alabama. It was built about 1840 by Isaac Croom, a native of North Carolina. Croom, a wealthy cotton planter, and his family were part of the migration of East Coast planters to Alabama’s fertile Black Belt area during the period known as Alabama Fever. In 1973, Magnolia Grove was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The grounds are open year-round, except state holidays, and a cellphone audio tour is available.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Attorney and plantation owner Isaac Croom came to Alabama from North Carolina during the migration period known as Alabama Fever following the War of 1812. He built Magnolia Grove in Greensboro in 1840. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Eleanor Cunningham)

Magnolia Grove, slave quarters, 1934. (Photograph by Alex Bush, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Magnolia Grove, servants cottage, 1934. (Photograph by Alex Bush, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Magnolia Grove, view of the stairwell, 1934. (Photograph by Alex Bush, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Magnolia Grove, view from the living room into the dining room, 1934. (Photograph by Alex Bush, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Magnolia Grove, first floor parlor, 1934. (Photograph by Alex Bush, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Magnolia Grove, view of a mantel, 1934. (Photograph by W. N. Manning, HABS, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.