Capell House B&B on Hwy 41 between Franklin and Camden, Ala.
While walking the trails and streets of Wilcox County one could be forgiven for seeing the boundaries between the past and present becoming blurred before their very eyes.
At places like Reaves Chapel, a quaint one room church on a wind-swept ridge near Gullet's Bluff, on a cold January day visions of children playing in the church yard and church members sharing dinner on the grounds was close to the mind's eye; although in our reality it was quite except for the sound of the wind whipping across the headstones.
It was the desire to be close to the past that took us to Wilcox County on that late January weekend. An effort to feel the essence of a bygone era, to walk among the hallowed buildings and sense the current of humanity that flows from our ancestors from the past to what we are today.
Yet to search out these lost local treasures of history one needs a base of operations and a comfortable place to stay. My wife Sondra and I found such a place in the Capell House, a Bed and Breakfast between Franklin and Camden, Alabama.
Construction on this very unique home was completed on the eve of the War Between the States. Professor Daniel Brooks, of Samford University, has said it is the only house of its kind in North America. The builder had recently returned from Haiti and it is thought he incorporated French/Creole elements into the architecture. Jackie and Sven Sharp are the proprietors of this unique home and no finer hosts exist than these two amazing people who took life by the reigns and set about restoring this grand old lady of the Antebellum period.
Originally the home was constructed for Harvey S. Capell. The Capell's migrated from North Carolina to Wilcox County where Capell owned 1100 acres and was part of an era of wealth accumulation when cotton in the Black Belt was like today's high tech industries in Silicone Valley.
Harvey Capell fought in the War Between The States and his grave at the Capell Cemetery is marked with a Confederate Cross. Yet other interesting graves may catch one's attention.
Isolated in a corner of the cemetery stands a lone wooden marker. Splintered and weathered, it has stood many a day. Capell family legend tells that it belonged to a stranger who came to the property sick and dying of fever. The young man was cared for by the family but died.
The owner of the plantation ordered a cedar tree cut and the following inscription carved into the wooden marker: "Pause you stranger as you pass me by....As you are now...so once was I...As I am now....So you may be...Prepare thyself to follow me."
Unknown to this writer at the time of the planning of this trip, the Capell House had a connection to Canoe, Alabama in the person of Mrs. Mary Capell Gordon. Mary was a daughter of Harvey and Malvenia Capell.
She married William Yancey Gordon, formally of Wilcox. His father, D.C. Gordon had been Wilcox County Circuit Clerk and the family was prominent in the area.
W.Y. Gordon and his brother Frank, moved to Canoe where they had a very successful farm. Frank was responsible for the brick work around the old Canoe Mineral Springs, where water was bottled and sold and weary train travelers stopped for a drink. It was while at Canoe that Frank lost his 8 year old son to a horse riding accident. Mary passed in 1899. When Harvey S. Capell passed on August 8, 1909, his former son in law, W.Y. Gordon attended the funeral. It is likely he brought his son, Harvey S. Gordon with him.
Jackie took us on a tour of the Camden area where we were introduced to Mrs. Pie Malone, also called just "Pie" (because she is sweet as pie). She is the curator of the Wilcox Women's Institute. The two story brick structure was built between 1845-1850 and operated as a boarding school for girls until 1910 when it was thereafter used by the Wilcox school system for 50 years.
Mrs. Malone's Great Uncle was Alabama's Governor Benjamin Meek Miller from 1931-1935 and an attorney in Camden. Ms. Jane Shelton Dale, Mrs. Malone's cousin was also instrumental in the tour. She recounted their common ancestor John Miller, a circuit riding Methodist minister in the area and that both her and Pie were born in the same house in Camden.
Jackie also took us to the Antebellum era home of William King Beck. Beck was married to Thomas Jefferson's niece. This huge home in Camden was used by the Beck's to entertain. He was a nephew of William Rufus King who was the 13th Vice President of the US.
Tim and Kathryn Hicks own this treasure in Camden and gave us the tour of this home. Many of the doors are of hand-planed wood; having seen several renovations through the decades, this structure remains true to its roots as evidenced by the hard work of its owners.
While in the area we also visited the Prairie Mission Institute near Miller's Ferry. The school is the only survivor of the six original Presbyterian mission schools that once operated in Wilcox County. These schools were historic African American schools which operated in the rural areas of the county. It was established in 1894.
We had a splendid supper at Gaines Ridge Dinner Club; a well known restaurant, situated in an Antebellum home which some say is haunted. The Black Bottom Pie will keep you coming back.
Yet as exceptional as the supper was, Jackie Sharp's morning creations at the Capell House B&B were impossible to top. I took deep reflection on the sites we had seen and the history that had passed here as I set by a warm fire while enjoying farm fresh Egg's Benedict accompanied by sautéed cherry tomatoes with herbs from her garden.
The rooms at the Capell House proved to be a perfect mixture of the historic and the contemporary. This B&B showed itself to be a special place run by special people. If you are looking for a quite weekend place to collect your thoughts and recharge your knowledge of history; give Jackie and Sven a call at 334 830 8072.
Perhaps the spirit of the area is best stated in a simple plaque hanging on a wall at Reaves Chapel: "Linger awhile and walk with me into the shadowy mist that was yesterday...Stroll across the faded pages of history and from our hardships learn the ways of a better life...Pass me not for I am the spirit of your ancestors...In your veins flow my blood and the blood of my fathers....Linger awhile, if only for a moment and through your thoughts I will know that I am remembered"....author unknown.
