The Selma Times-Journal

The Jones estate of Selma is no more, after the auction of the property Thursday.

The auction of the Jones estate in Selma was held at the Central Alabama Farmers Co-op on Hwy. 80 beginning at 11 a.m. and the entire estate sold to bidders.

The estate was auctioned by J.P. King, an auction marketing firm based in Gadsden. The estate covered approximately 630 unzoned acres divided into 53 parcels. Some of the acreage fronted U.S. Highway 80 and much of it stretched along Alabama Highway 14 west.

The auction opened with an atypical approach through bids for individual parcels, then concluded with a forum to combine parcels for bidding. The approach is often used by J.P. King in order to let more bidders in the process, according to spokesman Carl Carter.

The auction drew 55 registered bidders from four states, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, and Alabama. One hundred eleven people attended, with many standing in the entrance and outside the building.

Bidders sketched on maps with the parcels identified to determine what they wanted to buy. Families and businessmen and women conferred before making bids.

Parcels were combined per request of bidders after the first half of the auction, then reopened for sale with a 5 percent premium attached.

Of the 55, 16 had successful bids for parcels of land for a 100 percent sellout.

The lowest successful bid came in at $1,450 per acre and the highest successful bid came in at $13,500 per acre.

Proceeds from the sale totaled $2,060,210 after a 12 percent buyer&8217;s premium was factored in.