The $10,000 grant from the RC&D Community Development Grant Program was used for the purposes of restoring the Ackerville Baptist Church, located in Wilcox County, AL. The historic Greek Revival church dates from 1848 and has been maintained by the Stuart family since it was relocated to Ackerville in 1886. The church and adjacent cemetery were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Alabama Register of Historic Places in 2003 due to the importance of the architecture and contribution of the church to the overall history of Alabama.
In 2021, a tornado impacted the site and caused a large tree to fall into the church, severely damaging the structure. As a result, the Alabama Historical Commission listed the property on the 2022 Places in Peril. This annual list consists of historic structures and sites in Alabama that are in danger of being lost forever if immediate restorative action is not undertaken.
Grant funds were used to stabilize the structure, install a new roof, repair and replace wood siding, paint the exterior, restore original wood windows and doors, and repair brick piers. The project was a complete success and the material and labor costs were covered by a series of grants and matching funds.
Losing this importance architectural and cultural piece of Alabama history would had been a noticeable loss for not only Wilcox County but also for the entire state of Alabama. The repairs closely followed the design guidelines and standards as dictated by the Alabama Historical Commission and Department of the Interior to ensure the structure remains on the Alabama and National Register of Historic Places.