Waldwic, also known as the William M. Spencer, III, House, is a historic Carpenter Gothic plantation house and

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located on the west side of Alabama Highway 69, south of Gallion,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Built as the main residence and headquarters of a forced-labor farm worked by enslaved people, Waldwic is included in the Plantation Houses of the Alabama Canebrake and Their Associated Outbuildings Multiple Property Submission. The main house and plantation outbuildings were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on July 22, 1994.

History

The house for Robert Gracey started in 1840 as "an unpretentious galleried farmhouse"https://sah-archipedia.org/detail%2Fcontent%2Fentries%2FAL-01-065-0017.xml?q=%28section%3AAL-01%29%20AND%20decade%3A1840s and was then expanded and renovated in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style in 1852. The facade then resembled a rendering of “Waldwic Cottage” from volume two of William H. Ranlett’s "The Architect: A series of original designs for domestic and ornamental cottages and villas (1851)." Ranlett could have been involved with the design of the renovation as he was retained by other wealthy southerners, but just as likely is that Ranlett's design inspired the house and name (to which a “k” was eventually added). The carpentry work was completed by Peter Lee and Joe Glasgow, skilled craftsmen enslaved by Captain H.A. Tayloe, who owned the neighboring Macon Station Plantation. Lee and Glasgow also built

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Prairieville, Alabama) St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, also known as St. Andrew's Church is a historic church building on County Highway 12 in Prairieville, Alabama. Built by slaves in 1853, it is a remarkably well-preserved example of Carpenter Gothic architecture, ...

(1853–1854) in the Carpenter Gothic style and the decorative interior woodwork. Gracey's widow remarried after Robert's death to Willis Bocock in 1856. The 1860 United States Census of Marengo County indicates that Bocock enslaved 127 people in that year and the 1870s map of Hale County lists him as the owner still. The Waldwic property was originally within Marengo County, but this portion of Marengo was added to

Hale County Hale County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Hale County, Alabama *Hale County, Texas Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 32,522. The county seat is Plainview ...

upon its creation in 1867. Robert Gracey's granddaughter, Bertha Gracey Steele, married at Waldwic in 1889 to William Micajah Spencer. He was a lawyer and was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1901. The house is one of only about 20

residential structures remaining in Alabama. Other historic

residences in the area include

Ashe Cottage Ashe Cottage, also known as the Ely House, is a historic Carpenter Gothic house in Demopolis, Alabama. It was built in 1832 and expanded and remodeled in the Gothic Revival style in 1858 by William Cincinnatus Ashe, a physician from North Caroli ...

in Demopolis and

Fairhope Plantation Fairhope Plantation is a historic Carpenter Gothic plantation house and historic district, located one mile east of Uniontown, Alabama, US. The -story wood- framed main house was built in the Gothic Revival style in the late 1850s. The planta ...

in Uniontown.

References

External links

*
Photograph of Waldwic in 2004
{{National Register of Historic Places History of slavery in Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Hale County, Alabama Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Carpenter Gothic architecture in Alabama Houses completed in 1840 Plantation houses in Alabama Houses in Hale County, Alabama Historic districts in Hale County, Alabama Historic American Buildings Survey in Alabama Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama