Coretta Scott King’s childhood home has recently captivated national attention due to its crumbling state and lack of historical context. Notably no markers, except for the neighboring Mt. Tabor AME Zion Church, denote the significance of the location.
Obie Scott, Coretta’s father, notably preached at Mt. Tabor and wed Martin Luther King, Jr., to Coretta Scott in front of their family home in rural Perry County. Obie Scott also operated a general store that still stands beside the house, where the cash register and various objects may be viewed through a broken window.
The deteriorating estate, according to tax records, is in the possession of Bernice King, the youngest of the King children. The site has caught the attention of The Washington Post which discussed at length the relative obscurity the home lives under currently.
“I don’t really know anything about the house,” Kay Beckett, real estate agent and president of the Perry County Historical and Preservation Society said.
Although the grounds are regular cut, the house itself has no concrete future. Despite recent efforts to preserve various sites relevant to Black History, the Scott Place remains neglected from plans for preservation.
