Malbis Memorial Church

The history of the church at Malbis begins with the foundation of Malbis Plantation by Jason Malbis, a Greek immigrant. Born Antonios Markopoulos in the settlement of Doumena, he spent the first half of his life in a monastery. He initially emigrated to Chicago around 1900. He changed his name to Malbis while there and then, along with one of his friends, William Papageorge, he traveled around the country in search of a place to establish a Greek community. They purchased 120 acres (49 ha) near Daphne, Alabama in 1906 at $5 per acre. This formed the nucleus of Malbis Plantation.