This deserted property in Alabama is a treasure trove of clandestine secrets. The home of a millionaire business mogul and a former FBI agent, there's more to this abandoned dwelling than meets the eye. Captured by intrepid photographer Leland Kent of Abandoned Southeast, step inside and unravel this curious tale for yourself...

Nestled in a remote spot in rural Alabama, the red-roofed house, seen on the far right, sits on the shores of the G.C. Outlaw Dam, built by the home's most enigmatic former resident, George Cabell Outlaw. According to local legend, George acquired the property in 1925, purportedly winning the house in a poker game. A lawyer and business tycoon, the former homeowner wasn't quite all he seemed...

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In the rural idylls of Alabama's Mobile County, this secretive spot offered a quiet oasis away from the world. However, there may have been another reason as to why George snapped up this house. Archive records from the newly formed FBI (then known as the Bureau of Investigation), identify an agent by the name of G.C. Outlaw based in Mobile in 1918. According to reports, Outlaw investigated a threat made by the Ku Klux Klan against the leader of a multicultural group.

With the white supremacist organisation pervasive in the South, Outlaw would've been on the frontlines of the fight against the KKK. Before World War I came to a close in 1918, reports also show that Outlaw investigated anti-war sentiments among shipyard workers in Mobile. George likely bought the house for his family soon after he had left the FBI – the last records of his career date back to 1919 – at which point he began pursuing a completely different profession altogether...

In 1920, George Cabell Outlaw, who still went by the moniker G.C., founded Morrison's Cafeteria with his business partner James Arthur Morrison. Their first self-serve restaurant opened its doors in Mobile, but they went on to launch cafeterias in over 150 locations in the South. Together with his new palatial property, it seems Outlaw was living the American Dream.

In 1925, Outlaw moved his wife and two sons into the grand property. Designed by renowned architect George Bigelow Rogers, the Spanish Revival house dates back to 1914. While nature has reclaimed the rundown structure in recent years, it is still hauntingly beautiful. 

With the front door surrounded by a glass-paned arch, it's not hard to imagine the spectacular first impression that would've greeted guests back in the home's heyday. Arched patio doors flank the main entrance, casting light into the once-grand hallway of this forlorn property, while a vaulted beamed ceiling frames the grand space.

According to censuses from the time, George Cabell Outlaw shared the remote property with his wife Mayme, their sons George Cabell Junior and Arthur, a cook by the name of Hattie Durham, and Hamp Samuels, their house boy. With its spacious wings, the vast home would've had more than enough room for the small household. 

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The obvious wealth of the Outlaw family is clear to see, with no expense spared when it comes to the finer details of the building. This dazzling arched window features leaded panes and an elegant panelled surround. Before swathes of undergrowth surrounded the house, daylight would've poured in and illuminated the interior.

George used the fruits of his business empire to make some innovative renovations to the new family home. He created a lake on the estate – now known as the G.C. Outlaw Dam – by diverting the flow of a natural spring. He used the dam to generate power for the house and it became the first in the area to have electricity and a telephone, while an oil furnace in the basement provided heat. 

Over the years, G.C. Outlaw went on to bring power to other homes in the region too. Back in the day, this cutting edge property would've had a stunning interior to match its innovative features. The spectacular checkerboard flooring in the hallway would've no doubt shone as guests milled around at social soirees hosted by Mobile County's premier business mogul.

Elsewhere, signs of disrepair are all too evident. In the sitting room, paint crumbles from the ceiling and a broken window pane lies abandoned on the floor. Beneath the dust, however, the exquisite patterned floor is still visible, while the charming red-tiled fireplace is remarkably intact.

In the 1940s, change was in the air for the Outlaws, as George moved his family into the city and away from their rural retreat. At the age of 25, his youngest son, Arthur, began working as an auditor for the family business, before deciding to renovate his childhood home in the 1960s. George Cabell Outlaw passed away in 1964 at the age of 77, perhaps spurring Arthur on to make good the home they had shared together.

Arthur took the property in hand, restoring the heritage features and introducing modern touches to the dated interior. All the while, he was climbing the rungs of the family business, eventually rising to the post of vice-chairman of the board and director of Morrison Restaurants, alongside serving as the Mayor of Mobile from 1967 to 1968. With Arthur at the helm, his father's empire had a staggering net worth of $221 million at its peak – around $372 million (£308m) in today's money.

While traces of Arthur's renovations are still visible today, the interior is a sorry sight after years of neglect. Once a regal upstairs bedroom, this space is now a shadow of its former self, with broken floor tiles and peeling walls. Arthur lived in the house for a number of years, until his second appointment as Mayor of Mobile in 1985 saw him relocate to a property within the city limits.

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With Arthur's political career taking him away from his childhood home, it's easy to see how the property fell into decline. But while the house has been largely forgotten, Arthur Outlaw and his work for the city of Mobile have not. The Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Centre was named in his honour and he was even elected to the Alabama Business Hall of Fame before his death in 2000.

Over the years, the vast 120-acre estate, which includes the 17-acre lake that George Outlaw created, has grown wild and untamed, yet there's something enchanting about the way Mother Nature has taken back this rural beauty spot. According to tax records, the Outlaw family still own the property and its grounds, venturing out to fish on the G.C. Outlaw Dam to this day. 

While we've unravelled some of the mysteries surrounding this fascinating home, plenty more local legends still linger. Befitting of George Cabell Outlaw's former life, there's even rumoured to be an underground tunnel, connecting the house with the property across the road, though it's purportedly been filled in. If only walls could talk...

Sadly, with no plans to renovate this grand Revival home, the Outlaw House looks likely to continue its downward spiral into disrepair. The home of an FBI agent, a powerful businessman and a two-time local mayor, this enigmatic home has seen history in the making, and the remarkable achievements of its residents live on beyond its walls.

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