The Old Mill
Near Birmingham, Alabama
That picturesque stone mill nearby was never really a mill at all. It was built in the late nineteen twenties by Robert Jemison Junior, the developer behind the elegant suburb of Mountain Brook Estates, as a charming attraction to lure homebuyers. Designed to look centuries old, it housed a tearoom serving breakfast, afternoon tea, and dinner.
Riders out on horseback would stop here for a rest. After the tearoom closed, the Old Mill became a private home. Jemison himself was one of the most important real estate developers in Alabama history, and the image of this little mill became an emblem of Mountain Brook, the picture-perfect emblem of the town he dreamed up.
