MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — A Mobile County landmark is no more. The Outlaw House caught fire this past summer and was demolished weeks later. It’s one of two Mobile County landmarks featured in a new book that highlights unique old buildings in Alabama. Apart from some stones from the front wall, and the outline of an old driveway, there’s no sign in an oddly green field on Highway 45 that this was the site of the historic Outlaw House.

“It’s sad and I hate to hear that, that place is unique,” said the author of the Abandoned Southeast blog Leland Kent. We first spoke to him in 2021 following the fire. He was among the last to explore the house in his blog. It’s one of 11 state landmarks featured in his new book Abandoned Alabama.

“Be mindful of historic preservation look around, document these places as you see them, they’re not always going to be here and I feel that’s important,” said Kent. “It’s important to me to document these places because they’re not always going to be around. They’re part of history and they’re unique.” Another Mobile County site he features in his book is Searcy Hospital. It’s a place closed for nearly a decade that’s slowly decayed.

“That’s kind of a sad scenario with that place you have 200 years of Alabama history sitting right there,” said Kent. News 5’s Peter Albrecht last visited Searcy in 2019. While places like the Outlaw House feel like they’ve been around forever, it can just take one unfortunate event before places like it are gone forever.

You can see the Abandoned Southeast site here.