The Robinson-Smith House, now located at 1401 Highway 14E, was restored by ACHA in 2003. Its original site was at the intersection of McQueen-Smith Road and Highway 14E. Not much information is available on the house, but what has been found was put into a brochure given out at the opening of the house in the spring of 2002. That text is as follows:
Three names appear on the earliest legal documents for the Robinson-Smith House and the surrounding property: Thomas A. Rogers, Lewis G. Robinson, and Thomas Sanford. Since the house was known as the Robinson House before the Smiths acquired it, most likely Lewis Golson Robinson built it. Mary Olive Nisbett, who donated the house to ACHA, found the date 1833 carved on a house timber. One of the dates by Robinson’s name on an early abstract is November 14, 1833. Robinson had settled in Autauga County in 1824 and seems to have built the house about a decade later. He was affiliated with the Protestant Methodist Church at Robinson Springs, an area named for someone with the same name but unrelated to Lewis G. Robinson. (According to Mrs. Nisbett, the house served as a stop on a stagecoach route running from Mississippi to Georgia.)
At some point Burein Whitfield Moncrief became owner of the Robinson place. James Brown Smith and his wife, Mary Lamar Smith, purchased the Robinson place around 1919. James, who had attended Washington and Lee University, married Mary, daughter of Dent Lamar, a prominent Selma businessman, in 1874 (a street in Selma is named for Dent.) Earlier they had lived on the Coleman Place, two miles west of Prattville and then at Mulberry. James B. Smith died in 1923 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery. Mary Lamar Smith died in February 1934, and was buried on her 84th birthday. According to a report in the Prattville Progress, February 15, 1934, “Despite her advancing age, she remained active in associations with her many friends until her last illness began about six months ago....”
She was survived by three sons: W.M., Dennis, and Brown Smith, all of whom lived at Prattville. Dennis and his wife, Mary Armstrong, became the new owners of the place. Brown lived with them. Dennis McCarty Smith died June 10, 1967. Mary continued living at the home place until her death on June 6, 1996, at age 91. She had retired from the Prattville School System after 37 years of service. Jane Smith, wife of Major Smith, knew Mary Armstrong Smith personally, often visiting her in her home. Jane has some interesting stories about Mary, who became known around Prattville as Mary Denis Smith. Shortly after Jane started teaching at Prattville Junior High School, Mary Dennis appeared at Jane’s classroom with a large paddle. “This is for you,” Mary told Jane. “Don’t bother to send misbehaving students to the office. Take care of the problems yourself.” Jane also recalls Mary Dennis showing her the upper level of the Robinson-Smith house. It had been used for dancing in years past, according to Mary. The last owner of the place was Mary Olive Nisbett, daughter of Dennis and Mary Armstrong Smith. In 2002 Mrs. Nisbett gave the beautiful, historic home to the Autauga County Heritage Association with the understanding that the association would restore and maintain the house for present and future generations to enjoy.
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