This small store contained the post office that served the Sprott, AL community for over 100 years – from 1881 until it was closed in 1993. The post office shared the building with L. B. Sprott General Merchandise. In 1941, Walker Evans and James Agee published the powerful documentary on Alabama sharecroppers, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”, which included a photograph of the post office that was taken by Walker Evans in 1935-1936. The book became famous as a symbol of the Depression Age South. Today, the photograph is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
This store and post office served as a gathering spot for the Sprott community for many years. It represents an era that is fast disappearing. There have been some changes with the old store since Walker Evans took pictures of it. The front portion of the building was damaged in a storm and had to be replaced. Also, the building has been painted white. Included are recent pictures along with black-and-white photographs that were taken by Walker Evans (courtesy U. S. Library of Congress).
The old Sprott Post Office building is located approximately seven miles east of Marion, AL at the intersection of Highways 14 and 183 (32.676729,-87.221317 – Google Maps).
Source: Perry County Heritage, Volume II.