The Searcy House, owned by the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on July 17th, 2013. In 1986, the County acquired the building for office space, and now the structure is vacant and requires restoration. It is speculated that interested parties will purchase the property for parking and destroy the home. If the public does not identify a responsible buyer who will repurpose the building, it will be yet another Tuscaloosa landmark lost. The Searcy House must be saved!

George Searcy, a prominent Tuscaloosa businessman, built the neo-classical revival-style home in 1904. It is one of the few surviving historical mansions that lined Greensboro Avenue. 

The Searcy House has been placed on the Alabama Historic Commission’s 2013 "Places in Peril" list, designating it as one of Alabama's most significant endangered landmarks.

While the four massive columns that once graced the home's imposing facade are missing, the home retains many of its original details. It also features a unique cylindrical spiral staircase salvaged from an earlier Tuscaloosa residence. 

The Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, as well as other professional historians and architects, have urged that the Searcy House is worth salvaging and not beyond repair. They have confirmed that it is an important marker of history that should be protected and not forgotten.

However, the onus will be on the new owners to restore it. The County Board of Education has a minimum asking price of $600,000 for the sale of home. And, of course, the price does not include any restoration expenses to follow.

Garnering the funds necessary for the preservation of the Searcy House is not impossible, but it will require individuals or private enterprise to raise their hands. The City of Tuscaloosa, the Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society and the University of Alabama have expressed no interest in repurposing the structure thus far.

What can we as citizens do? If we feel strongly that this historical landmark is worth preserving, particularly in a current downtown climate in which many structures are being destroyed, we must take action.

Spread the word to your friends, neighbors and the public. Voice your opinion to the newspaper and the media. Share this petition. Think of individuals or entities who may be interested in purchasing the property. Make phone calls and set up meetings. And finally, put public pressure on and expose those who are speculating behind closed doors to purchase this treasure and turn it into yet another parking lot or an unnecessary development. All of these actions may sound naïve to preserve a structure that can only be salvaged through a large financial investment. But what we value most should never be taken for granted and at least deserves a fair trial before it is left to ruin.

We believe that the Searcy House must be saved!