The Charles Swift Family
Charles Swift came to Alabama in 1880 and married Susan Roberts in 1885. He developed a successful lumber business, including a sawmill here on the Bon Secour River. The Swifts raised their eleven children in this 16-room Tidewater home, lovingly called "The Big House."
The Swifts were very active in the Bon Secour community. They operated the Post Office in the early 1900s, owned a Commissary Store for the sawmill workers, and built the first one room schoolhouse to serve the area. The current Swift School and Episcopal Church were built on lands donated by Mrs. Susan Swift. All of the Swift children led successful lives: Robin, U.S. Senator, Miriam and Emily, teachers; Eleanor, musician and artist; William, WWI and WWII veteran; Susie Nell, nurse; Ira, West Point Graduate, Major General U.S. Army WWII and Korea; Byard, farmer; Amelia, Postmistress and owner of 'Meme's Restaurant' in Bon Secour; Polly, nurse; and Edward, owner of Swift's Fishing Cottages and Store.
Reverse
Swift Coles Historic Home
In 1882, Thomas Gavins, a descendant of French settlers,
built a four-room dogtrot cabin on this site. Charles Swift
bought the cabin and surrounding acreage around
1898 and built a sawmill. He moved into
the cabin with
his wife and 8 children by 1900 and added a west wing. In
1910, now with 11 children, a second story was
added enlarging the home to 6,000 sq ft plus 3,000 sq ft
of porches. Two barns and a five-seater outhouse
completed the homestead.
The last of the original Swift family who had lived in the
home passed away in 1976. The home was purchased by
Nicholas Coles, a local restaurateur and antique
dealer. He bequeathed the estate to the Baldwin County
Historic Development Commission in 2007. Opened to the
public in 2009, the home and grounds are
primary examples of life along the Bon Secour River in
the early 1900s. It was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in December of 2016.
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