Antebellum Root Cellar/John Mallory House

The John Mallory House is named for Mr. John Mallory.  When he retired from a railroad career, he came back to Alabama.  He was the last caretaker of the Wallace House during the 1950s, watching over it when it was empty and helping out when it was occupied during the summer and on occasional weekends.  In exchange, he lived in the one room over the antebellum root cellar.  The only ventilation was one window and the door in the non-insulated galvanized metal building.  There is a hole in the metal sheathing covered by a mason jar lid located by his bed that may have provided some air circulation in the summer.  This house represents the Jim Crow aspect of the Wallace House, the legacy of enslavement.  We do not know much about Mr. Mallory but assume that he was a descendant of parents enslaved by the Mallory family at nearby Mallory Crossing (Nathaniel and Mary Jane Wallace Mallory).  Hopefully additional research will provide more of his story.   

The root cellar is the only remaining antebellum outbuilding on the property.  We know that it was near the well and kitchen and other outbuildings (see “ghost structures”).   Fruits and vegetables would have been stored in the cool underground space for off-season use.  The floor is dirt and there are two windows above the ground.

We have not begun preservation of this important building and are raising funds for this purpose.