Beckner House
a.k.a. Baker House
63 S. Church St., Fairhope, ALIn March of 1905 the Fairhope Single-Tax Corporation purchased the De La Mare Tract, approximately five acres between Church Street and Section Street in the heart of town. In November of 1905 the Fairhope Courier noted that J. M. Beckner, his wife and daughter were planning to "get up a cottage on a lot" in the new tract. J. M. Beckner was a 63-year old Single-Taxer born in Indiana who came South to participate in the Fairhope experiment. He chose E. D. Brann, a contractor from Minneapolis, to build his new home. Brann served as local fire chief and had a good reputation in the community. By late January of 1906 the foundation had been laid and by April the house was finished. The Courier noted, "This is one of the most attractive and comfortable homes in Fairhope...and an ornament to the town." The Beckner's were in their new house only five months when the hurricane of 1906 struck, heavily damaging Fairhope. "Mr. Beckner's nice new home looks all serene from the outside..." reported the Courier in an assessment of damage to the town. Nonetheless, some $200-$300 damage to the interior resulted from lashing rains penetrating through to the plaster walls. Since the 1906 storm, there have been no serious threats to the integrity of the house.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.