Deep in the wilds of Alabama’s rural Mobile County once stood a Spanish Revival mansion with a fascinating tale to tell.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Dating back to 1914, the grand Outlaw House occupied a secluded spot away from the hustle and bustle – a detail that would’ve been particularly attractive to the residence’s one-time owner.
Before it was destroyed by a fire in 2021, Mother Nature had begun to encroach on the regal home’s living spaces. However, it’s clear to see from these images captured by Leland Kent how grand the property would’ve been back in its heyday.
Around 1925, George Cabell Outlaw is said to have acquired the house in a poker game, but the intrigue doesn’t end there…
To the outside world, George was a lawyer and business tycoon, who perhaps held high-society soirées in these elegant checkerboard-tiled halls.
However, according to archive records from the then-newly formed FBI – known as the Bureau of Investigation at that time – G C Outlaw was formerly an agent based in nearby Mobile.
While James Bond has gadgets and a catalogue of super-smart residences, Outlaw had his own state-of-the-art technology of the day – his house was the first in the area to have electricity, which was generated by a nearby dam.
It appears George moved into the property shortly after he left the FBI, but during his time with the Bureau, it seems he was on the frontlines of the fight against the Ku Klux Klan, investigating threats made by the white supremacist group.
Who knows what hushed secrets these walls were privy to. There was even rumoured to be an underground tunnel that connected the mansion to a structure across the street, though it’s said to have since been filled in.
While many locals had hoped the grand old house would be restored, their dreams were dashed when a fire destroyed the upper floor in July 2021. The rest of the residence was damaged beyond repair and the Outlaw House, along with a neighbouring property, was demolished in December 2021.
After more than 100 years, this storied landmark home was irrevocably lost, but its fascinating history lives on.