N orth Alabama is in danger of losing two hidden and historic gems: A log house built 200 years ago in Madison County and a little-known gallery of cliff art created more than 600 years ago in Marshall County.

The Urquhart house, built in 1813 and located near Toney, and Painted Bluff above the Tennessee River are listed on this year's Places in Peril, which calls attention to historical sites in danger of being lost to aging, weather or human carelessness. The list is released by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation.

"These are places that make our communities distinctive and tell us who we are as a people," said Frank W. White, executive director of the Historical Commission.

This log home built by Allen Urquhart was named to the 2013 Places in Peril list. The home built in 1813 or 1814 is located on private property off Pulaski Pike in Madison County. Its owner hopes an organization will take it over. (Contributed by Drenda King/Historic Huntsville Foundation)

Of the 216 sites highlighted during the 20 years of the program, three-quarters are still standing.

Here are two North Alabama sites historians hope can be saved by highlighting their plight:

Painted Bluff, Marshall County

High above the Tennessee River, 80 colorful drawings called pictographs decorate Painted Bluff.

The Marshall County cliff is one of the few remaining painted bluffs in the state because of weather and human carelessness. The Tennessee Valley Authority manages the site and its archaeologists are searching for ways to protect it.

Although its exact age is unknown, a burned river cane torch discovered at the site was carbon dated to 1400 AD, which archaeologists believe to have been left at the site during the period when the drawings were made.

Erin Pritchard, a TVA archaeological specialist, said the drawings are prehistoric and were created in the Mississippean Period.

In the book "TVA Archaeology: Seventy-five Years of Prehistoric Site Research," Pritchard writes: "By its complexity and sophistication, Painted Bluff is one of, if not the, most significant open-air rock art occurrence in the southeastern United States."

Dr. Jan Simek, who visited the site in 2004 with permission from TVA, said such drawings played a prominent role in native cultures. "Rock art was an important part of prehistoric people's religion," said Simek, president emeritus and distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee. "It helped link people to their faith and to nature."

The drawings include anthropomorphic human figures as well as fish, snakes and other animals.

Pritchard said the pictographs are endangered by weather but "they are also endangered by human activity. A lot of spray painting and graffiti goes on along this bluff, as well as rock climbing."

She said the utility walks a line between letting the public enjoy the site and protecting it.

"The sites are so sensitive and they are subject to destruction and graffiti," she said. "We have to find a balance between protecting these resources and sharing them with the public."

TVA officials plan to reach out to the rock climbing community, whose members are typically supportive of preserving nature sites, and hold other outreach events to educate the public on the site's significance.

"We hope to have some archaeologists come and talk about the site," she said.

Urquhart House, Madison County

Along a rural road off Pulaski Pike and behind a "private property" sign, a nearly 200-year-old log home is barely visible through the growth that cloaks it.

Even with that poor visibility, it is clear the home is dilapidated and near collapse.

"If somebody doesn't get it, it's going to be gone," said Drenda King with Historic Huntsville Foundation.

King said the owner, Verna Lee Clark, would like someone to take over ownership of the home.

"The current owners are hopeful a qualified, appropriate individual or association will move the building to another location for restoration rather than seeing the remaining buildings collapse or a future owner destroy them," King said.

The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"When the property was placed on the National Historic Register there were four structures: the house, a 1926 gabled barn, a privy and a small garage," King said. "The garage has since collapsed."

King researched the home's origins and came across writings by the late Harvie Jones of Huntsville, who wrote the house "clearly shows the growth from an initial 'make-do' primitive low-ceilinged single-pen 'log cabin' to a larger and nicely finished five-room, plastered 'log house', all in the Federal Period."

King hopes it can be saved. "It was a nice house once," she said.

Join al.com reporter Kelly Kazek on her weekly journey through Alabama to record the region's quirky history, strange roadside attractions and tales of colorful characters. Follow Kelly Kazek on Twitter. Email Kelly Kazek at kkazek@al.com or call 256-701-0576 or find her on Facebook.