GULF SHORES, Ala. — The Swift-Coles Mansion in Bon Secour will be open for tours on Sunday, May 24 from 2 to 5 p.m.

The tours of this stately mansion are presented by the Baldwin County Historical Development Commission and are co-sponsored by the Weeks Bay Foundation and the Baldwin County Department of Archives and History.

The event will include tours of the house, tea and refreshments. Donnie Barrett, owner of the Fairhope Tea Plantation, the only tea plantation in Alabama, has donated the tea.

The Swift-Coles mansion, built by Charles A. Swift in 1882 and sits on beautiful grounds overlooking Schoolhouse Creek in Bon Secour.

Originally built with eight rooms, the house was expanded in 1902 to a total of 16 rooms. Upon the death of the Swift children in 1976, the mansion became available.

Baldwin County restaurateur and antiques dealer, Nik Coles, immediately purchased the place. Coles’ Estate left the mansion to Baldwin County in 2008 to ensure that it would remain available to the citizens of Baldwin County.

Directions to the Swift-Coles mansion: From Alabama 59, take Baldwin County Road 10 west to the intersection of Baldwin County Road 49 (at the Tin Top Restaurant). Turn left onto County Road 49 and the house is .2 miles on the left (at Swift-Coles Lane).

A donation for tours of $10 per person is requested.