MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, Ala. - Signs can shed a historic light about a building or community, and the sign describing the history of Magnolia Springs is incorrect in regards to the year a historic building was erected.

Part of the sign standing outside the Community Association Hall building and near town hall reads: "A volunteer fire department served the safety needs of the community. It was housed in a small 1905 cinder block structure behind the historic Community Hall and adjacent to St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel."

The building, which first was used for the volunteer fire department and now is used as town hall, was not build in 1905. It was erected in the 1960s, Magnolia Springs Mayor Charles Houser said.

"When we sent in the copy to the company that makes the sign, they changed it because they had to cut it down to make it fit on the sign, which we didn't know anything about," Houser said on what he thinks happened to cause the miscue. "So when the sign came we didn't check it. We checked the proof, which was correct, but we didn't check the sign. They shortened a sentence and jammed two together and made it incorrect."

The original copy sent by the town describes the chapel as being built in 1905, not the fire department and town hall building. It reads, "A volunteer fire department served the safety needs of the community, housed in a small cinder block structure behind the historic Community Hall and adjacent to St. Paul's Episcopal Chapel, built in 1905."

"It took a date for one of the churches and stuck it in there for the date of the town hall," Houser said.

Town resident asks council to fix mistake

The issue was brought up at the May 24 council meeting by town resident Nancy Gaines, who said the sign makes Magnolia Springs residents "look like idiots."

"This date sticks out if you are familiar with architecture at all," Gaines said at the meeting. "It makes the people of Magnolia Springs look like idiots because you can tell this concrete building was not built in (1905)."

The council agreed to look into correcting the marker, and Councilman Ken Underwood said fixing it could cost around $2,500.

"We're talking to (the company) about making us another one," Houser confirmed.

Gaines continued that the sign needs to be corrected.

"I feel like the town council should correct it," she said. "If the council can't afford it, I'd like to raise money in the community."

The sign, erected in 2010 by the town and the Alabama Tourism Department, is located on Oak Street in between the Community Association Hall building, built in 1894, and the chapel. The Volunteer Fire Department now has a modern building, built around 10 years ago, located on Gates Avenue.