Old Town Historic District | |
Location | Huntsville, Alabama |
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Coordinates | 34°44′7″N86°34′50″W / 34.73528°N 86.58056°W |
Area | 94 acres (38 ha) |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Victorian, Colonial/Greek Revival, Arts and Crafts, Federal, Art Deco |
NRHP reference No. | 78000499 (original) 15000069 (increase) |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 18, 1978 [1] |
Boundary increase | March 17, 2015 |
The Old Town Historic District was the second historic district in Huntsville, Alabama. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 18, 1978. Roughly bounded by Dement and Lincoln Sts., and Randolph and Walker Avenues, it features homes in a variety of styles including Victorian, Federal, Greek Revival, Queen Anne, American Craftsman, and even Prairie School with homes dating from the late 1820s through the early 20th century.
The Old Town Historic District had its beginnings in 1973, when local architect Harvie Jones suggested to home owners Charles E. and Frances J. Rice that they create another district to include the 19th century homes that remained outside of the Twickenham Historic District. The Rices accordingly began obtaining the necessary petitions and documents to gain first local, then state and finally national recognition for the Old Town Historic District. They were supported in their efforts by then Huntsville mayor Joe W. Davis, Madison County Commissioner Tilman Hill, and Alabama U. S. Senator John Sparkman. The Rices were later honored by the Alabama Historical Commission for their contributions to historic preservation, and in 2009 a small park in Old Town was named after them. [2]
Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 103,570. Its county seat is Athens. The county is named after Limestone Creek. Limestone County is included in the Huntsville, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Madison County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 388,153, making it the second-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Huntsville. Since the mid-20th century it has become an area of defense and space research and industry.
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,521. The county seat is Huntsville. The county was formed on September 30, 1836, and named for Madison County, Alabama, the home of some early settlers. They also named the county seat after Madison County in Alabama's county seat, Huntsville.
Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the county seat of Madison County with portions extending into Limestone County and Morgan County. It is located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama south of the state of Tennessee.
Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest in the state, and is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The population was 56,933 at the 2020 census. Madison is bordered by Huntsville on nearly all sides with some small unincorporated lands within Madison in Madison and Limestone counties.
Mooresville is a town in Limestone County, Alabama, United States, located southeast of the intersection of Interstate 565 and Interstate 65, and north of Wheeler Lake.
Gurley is a town in Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 816.
New Market is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 1,543. Although it was the first area settled in Madison County, the town has never been incorporated.
Heathsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Northumberland County, Virginia, United States. Heathsville is in the easternmost county of the Northern Neck of Virginia, which was the birthplace of three of the first five Presidents of the United States - George Washington, James Madison, and James Monroe. It is the county seat of Northumberland County, and has housed four county courthouses since the first was built in 1663.
The following properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Alabama.
Twickenham Historic District was the first historic district designated in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1973, with a boundary increase on May 26, 2015. The name derives from an early name for the town of Huntsville, named after Twickenham, England, by LeRoy Pope. It features homes in the Federal and Greek Revival architectural styles introduced to the city by Virginia-born architect George Gilliam Steele about 1818, and contains the most dense concentration of antebellum homes in Alabama.
Dallas Mill was a manufacturer of cotton sheeting in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The first of four major textile mills in Huntsville, the mill operated from 1891 until 1949, before it was converted for use as a warehouse in 1955 and burned in 1991. The village, constructed to house workers and their families, was incorporated into the city in 1955. The mill and its mill village are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Alabama:
Lincoln School is a historic school building in Huntsville, Alabama. Built in 1929 as part of the Lincoln Mill Village, the school became part of the city school system in the 1950s. The city sold the building to a private school in 2011. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The McCrary House is a historic farm house near Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama. Founded after the initial federal land sale in Madison County in 1809, the farm has been in the McCrary family throughout. It was recognized as an Alabama Century & Heritage Farm in 1979, and reaffirmed on its 200th anniversary in 2009. Additionally, the house was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1979 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The First National Bank is a historic bank building in Huntsville, Alabama. The temple-form Greek Revival structure was built in 1835–1836. Designed by locally famous architect George Steele, it occupies a prominent position, facing the courthouse square and sitting on a bluff directly above the Big Spring. It was the longest-serving bank building in Alabama, operating until 2010 when Regions Bank moved their downtown branch to a new location. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Lincoln Mill and Mill Village Historic District is a historic district in Huntsville, Alabama. Opened in 1900, it quickly grew to be Huntsville's largest cotton mill in the first quarter of the 20th century. After closing in 1955, the mills were converted to office space that was used by the U.S. space program. Two of the older production buildings burned in 1980, but one main building and numerous houses built for workers remain. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
The Gurley Historic District is a historic district in Gurley, Alabama. The district was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1995 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The William Lanford House is a historic residence in Huntsville, Alabama. The house was built by William Lanford, a native of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Lanford's father, Robert, was an early land speculator who came to Huntsville from Nashville along with LeRoy Pope. William purchased 1,975 acres in 1843 and built his house in 1850. Lanford's daughter, Mary, married physician John R. Slaughter in 1853, who later moved his practice to the house in William Lanford's later life. Upon his death in 1881, the land was divided among Lanford's daughters, with Mary and Dr. Slaughter remaining in the house. After Mary's death in 1913, the house was sold to William Olin Camper in 1919. Camper and his brother Robert were merchants in Madison and Huntsville, and owned the Twickenham Hotel in Huntsville.
The Madison Station Historic District is a historic district in Madison, Alabama. Madison was first settled around 1818 as a farming community, but significant growth began in 1858, when the first depot was built along the Memphis and Charleston Railroad line. Madison Station became an important loading point for the shipment of cotton, supplanting the Tennessee River as the preferred means of shipment. Merchants and other businesses soon followed, with many people moving from the river port of Triana. After a lull during the Civil War, the town's growth continued; Madison was incorporated in 1869. The town grew steadily until the 1950s, when industry spurred by the expansion of Redstone Arsenal replaced cotton as the primary economic force in Madison County.