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Students Tour West Alabama Architecture

Students in Dr. Rachel Stephens‘ ARH 477 (Topics in American Art) traveled through several west Alabama towns on a rainy autumn day to study antebellum planter elite architecture firsthand. Their tour included stops at four plantation homes: Magnolia Grove in Greensboro, Gaineswood and Bluff Hall in Demopolis, and the Moore-Webb-Holmes Plantation in Marion. At the Moore-Webb-Holmes Plantation, they viewed original outbuildings and slave quarters that still stand. The students also visited two Episcopal churches – St. John’s-in-the-Prairie in Forkland and St. Andrew’s in Prairieville – built from patterns designed by Richard Upjohn. All of the structures are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many thanks to Dr. Stephens for all the photos.

 Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at Bluff Hall in Demopolis, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in the Black Belt as part of their studies. Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at Gaineswood in Demopolis, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in the Black Belt as part of their studies. Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Prairieville, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in the Black Belt recently as part of their studies.

(above left): Dr. Rachel Stephens’ ARH 477 class at Bluff Hall in Demopolis, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale and Marengo counties in the Black Belt as part of their studies.

(above middle): ARH 477 students visit Gaineswood plantation house in Demopolis, Alabama.

(above right): Dr. Rachel Stephens’ ARH 477 class at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Prairieville, Alabama.

Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at The Moore/Webb/Holmes Plantation and out buildings (circa 1819), Folsom, Perry County, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in the Black Belt as part of their studies. ARH 477 students at the Pie Lab in Greensboro.

(above left): Dr. Rachel Stephens’ ARH 477 class at the Moore-Webb-Holmes Plantation and out buildings (circa 1819), Folsom, Perry County, Alabama.

(above right): Dr. Rachel Stephens with her ARH 477 class doing some intensive architectural history research at the Pie Lab in Greensboro, Alabama.

Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at Bluff Hall in Demopolis, Alabama. The students toured several structures around Hale, Perry and Marengo counties in the Black Belt as part of their studies. Dr. Rachel Stephens' ARH 477 class at St. John's-in-the-Prairies (1859), Forkland, Alabama.  ARH 477 students on a tour inside Magnolia Grove.

(above left): Students in ARH 477 at the main entrance of Bluff Hall with their tour guide.

(above middle): Dr. Rachel Stephens’ ARH 477 class at St. John’s-in-the-Prairies (1859), Forkland, Alabama.

(above right): ARH 477 students on a tour inside Magnolia Grove, at the spiral staircase, in Greensboro, Alabama. [s16]

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