Coming Someday: The Coosada Cafe

In January we bought The Zeigler House. It is the fourth oldest home in Alabama. It was built around 1830. It sits on nearly two acres, and is just about half a block away from The Elms. We plan some day to turn this building into The Coosada Cafe. That day will not come for some time, however. One major renovation project at a time is enough for us! For now, we have had the land cleared and the interior debris removed. (See photos below.) It will sit and rest for the remainder of this year.

For some further information regarding this home, here is a clipping from an Alabama Historical Commission newsletter:

“The Ziegler House is a three-dimensional link to a house form dating from 18th-century Europe. Once the center of a large plantation, the building was constructed by William Zeigler from Orangeburg District, S.C., around 1830 — making it one of the four earliest surviving dwellings in Elmore County. In form and style, “it’s really a 1700s dwelling in early-1800s Alabama,”said Robert Gamble, AHC senior architectural historian.

“The central front door opens directly into a single large room, with a slightly smaller room to the right. This is what architectural historians call a “‘hall-and-parlor” or ‘hall-and-chamber” layout. “’Hall’ is used here in the old English sense — as in a ‘great room’,” said Gamble. This plan goes back to earliest colonial days in English North America, and can be traced from there right across the Atlantic.

“Despite its importance, the house has gone largely unnoticed in recent years, especially after renovations gave it a more “modern” look. But local historians and Zeigler descendants have always known that beneath later changes stands a very early dwelling rich in history.

“The house was being razed for a new housing development — one brick chimney had already been torn

down — when Deborah Gilliam of the West Elmore County Historical Society passed by. Quickly, she called the owner and convinced him to halt the demolition temporarily. At first, it looked as though relocation might be the only way to save the Ziegler house, but a recent offer to sell the entire property has opened up another option – albeit a costly one – to preserve the landmark on its original site.”