As I pulled up to the front portion of the white columned historic house next to Shoney’s on Lake Mitchell Road Friday, I was immediately intrigued.

Here was a vacant structure with cracked paint, broken windows and overgrown vines that was once a beautiful home.

The “Mims House” located at 930 Lake Mitchell Road is being torn down after family heirs to the home decided there was no available option to save the structure.

I stopped by with the intention to briefly find out more information about the home and snap a quick picture for the newspaper but I was treated to several stories about the builder of the home, Elijah H. Mims, and a quick walk through the historic structure.

Although I was nothing short of timid walking along the outer rim of the home with parts of the floor sinking in spots, I couldn’t help but notice the simple beauty from a different era.

There was beautiful wallpaper lining the walls in two of the rooms along with a strategically placed green chair near a window overlooking a lush green field. As I went upstairs, there were torn pieces of a hymnal strewn about the floor, several canning jars and a receipt for a newspaper subscription from the 1940s (this made my heart happy even though it wasn’t a subscription to The Clanton Advertiser)

I will never have the opportunity to know the people who once built the home or learn all of the history of Elijah H. Mims and his family, but I did have the opportunity to traipse through his home built around 1890-1910.

I was able to appreciate the small details of a home built from wood that was cut off of the land Elijah H. Mims cleared to build the home and spend a few minutes picturing a place that would have been bustling with activity at one time.

Although it is sad to see the house being torn down, I enjoyed stepping back more than 100 years in visiting the home today. If you have the opportunity to drive by the house in the next several weeks I invite you to do so. I wouldn’t advise going inside since there are multiple “no trespassing” signs throughout the home but the simple beauty of the work a man devoted to creating a beautiful home more than 100 years ago can be appreciated by all generations.