Jacksonville building on list of places in peril

Forney Hall

State preservationists announced the 2015 list of Places in Peril in Alabama Tuesday.

The list is meant to bring awareness to the sites and garner support for their preservation.  Included on the list is the Forney Hall in Jacksonville.  Forney Hall is a Classical Revival-style building erected in 1927 at the former Jacksonville State Normal School, a two-year college that trained elementary school teachers. In 1930, it became a four-year college and moved to its present campus of what is now Jacksonville State University. Forney Hall was converted to a dorm but was later abandoned and is now dilapidated.

The Trust for Historic Preservation writes: "This rare survival from the college's past (it was founded in 1883) sits vacant and forlorn today. A land swap between Jacksonville State University and the City of Jacksonville is in process. That deal may facilitate the renovation of the grand old building, which sits near other historic structures that the city has occupied."

For more information about the preservation of Forney Hall, contact Jerrod Brown, Jacksonville Historical Society, at 205-213-6081.