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United States Department of the Interior National Park Service y 7-o National Register of Historic Places Regis t,LU..1..1.M.LLL...M.L.LI.L----. This fonn is for use in nominating or requesting dete1minations for individual prope11ies and !li uicts. SE1C.El~~Qi2,28Q Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does n documented, enter "N/ A" for "not applicable." for functions, architectural classification, materials, and ar categolies and subcategories from the instructions. MAY 2 4 2013 1. Name of Property Historic name: Boxwood Plantation Slave uarter EGISTEA OF HISTORIC PLACES Other names/site number: "The Little Brick" NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Name of related multiple property listing: NIA (Enter "NIA" if property is not part of a multiple property listing 2. Location Street & number: 20416 Alabama Highway 20 City or town: Courtland State: Alabama County: Lawrence Not For Publication:• Vicinity: 0 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this ____x_ nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _x_ meets _ _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: _national ..x__statewide llocal Applicable National Register Criteria: ..x__A B ..x__c Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer 2111 Signature of certifying official/Title: Date Alabama Historical Commissio State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property _meets_ does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title: State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 1 "-'lllt.V .... _t. .... t.V ... -Vf"'ll,,,llt.lllVIOt,. VI t.llV Hlt..... 11\_,I National Park Service I National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter Lawrence, Alabama Name of Property County and State 4. National Park Service Certification I h ereby certify that this property is: ~ ntered in the National Register _ determined eligible for the National Register _ determined not eligible for the National Register _ removed from the National Register _other(e ain:) _______ _ _ I b /Y Date of '.Action 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: • Public - Local 0 Public - State D Public - Federal D Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building( s) 0 District • Site • Structure • Object • page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter Lawrence, Alabama Name of Property County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing 1 buildings sites 1 structures objects 1 1 Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register __N~/~A _ _ _ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) DOMESTIC: Secondary Structure Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) VACANT/NOT IN USE page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter Lawrence, Alabama Name of Property County and State 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) Other: Double Pen Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: Brick ______ Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) Summary Paragraph The Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter is a brick, gable roofed building comprised of two rooms. Its front fa9ade punctuated by two original doorways (but no windows) faces north towards Alabama Highway 20. The small house occupies a low swell of ground just west of the entrance to the 230 acre Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex. The main plantation house associated with this dependency stood some 75 feet to the northeast on a low knoll. That house was demolished in the 1950s for the widening of the highway. Until the spring of 2011, a cluster of old cedars and crepe myrtle remained approximately thirty feet north of the structure, clearly remnants of 19th or early 20th -century plantings. These were destroyed by the storm which struck the area on April 27, 2011. Some ten feet west of the dwelling are traces of an early farm road which led to the cotton fields that once lay to the south. To the rear of the structure is a concrete­ lined cistern, now filled in with debris. The building is in its original location. It retains its architectural integrity, despite some later alterations which are discussed below. It is the only extant resource associated with the Boxwood Plantation. The former plantation lands surrounding this outbuilding are being developed as an industrial park. page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service I National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter Lawrence, Alabama Name of Property County and State Narrative Description The Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter is a two-room brick, gabled rectangular structure facing north and measuring altogether approximately 3 7'-5" x 19' -4" [photo 1]. A chimney with stepped weatherings abuts each end of the dwelling. The brick walls themselves - the brick is reputed to have been "slave-made" - measure eleven inches in thickness and are laid in a rough common bond atop a shallow, stepped-corbel footing sunk less than a foot below grade. Here and there are traces of rough-cut limestone which was also incorporated into the foundation. The front (north) elevation [photo 2] is punctuated by two doors (no windows), each door opening into a single room measuring seventeen-and-a-half feet square. Originally there were corresponding windows punctuating the rear (south) elevation. These, however, were converted to doorways [photo 3] when the structure was enlarged around 1960. Some time prior to 1960, the two rooms, originally accessible only from the outside, were connected by cutting a segmental-arched opening [photo 5] through the brick partition wall that separated them. And at an undetermined date, another window was cut into the west wall, to the south of the chimney. Each room has a ceiling height of eight-and-a-half feet. Much of the original wall, floor, and ceiling surfaces are now concealed beneath later material - variously plaster (applied directly onto the brick) and wallboard. Since the brickwork itself is rough and porous, it appears that the present 20th -century plaster was applied to smooth and stabilize the walls. At this juncture in the investigation of the building, it is unclear whether the original walls were plastered or whether the brick was left exposed and perhaps whitewashed. The floors appear to have consisted from the beginning of heavy wooden joists overlaid with floorboards. Each room was heated by a single fireplace opening. In the west room [photo 6] an early (though not original) mantelpiece survives. The long-sealed fireplace opening in the east room [photo 4] has recently been re­ opened and internally stabilized. The roof framing visible in the attic area displays "false" or "raised-plate" construction, whereby the downward-sloping roof rafters are received by a lateral wooden plate, rather than being joined directly to the wooden ceiling joists beneath. The roof rafters rise from a lateral plate atop both the north and south walls of the house, and are lap-jointed and doweled at the ridge in a construction technique that dispenses with a ridge pole. These rafters were originally overlain with "skip decking" (that is, spaced decking which allows a roof covering to "breathe" - an important consideration when, as in this case, the original roof covering was very likely wooden shakes). The present metal roof covering may date from the early 20th century. In the 1960s, the original structure was enlarged by the addition of a one-room gabled extension at the west front, abutted on the east side by a small wrought-iron porch, thus creating an asymmetrical fa9ade which concealed the original character of the structure. About the same time, a shed extension was added across the rear, containing two rooms with a bath between. The original brick walls and wooden cornices above were also covered with synthetic siding, page 5 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service/ National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 Boxwood Plantation Slave Quarter Lawrence, Alabama Name of Property County and State leaving only the two brick end chimneys exposed. These were, at some time in the past, covered with stucco - no doubt to mitigate the porosity of the original brick. As part of a stabilization and reclamation effort commenced in early 2011, all the later additions have been removed, revealing the original two-room building. Long-range plans call for restoration of the exterior. Behind the quarters is a concrete-lined, brick cistern. Its construction date has not been determined, despite extensive research. It is not believed to date from the period of significance and, in any event, has lost integrity due to its interior, concrete coating.

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