List of oldest buildings in Alabama

Last updated

This article attempts to list the oldest extant buildings in the state of Alabama in the United States. Some dates are approximate and based upon dendochronology, architectural studies, and historical records. The area that is now Alabama was originally inhabited by Native Americans. The settlement of Mobile began in 1702 as the first capital of the colony of French Louisiana, and the region was colonized and traded between French, British, Spanish, and American forces during the 1700s. No documented buildings remain standing in the state from this period, though Fort Toulouse has been accurately reconstructed. There is one remaining example nearby, the 1757 french colonial LaPointe-Krebs House in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The oldest existing structures within the state reflect a wave of American settlement into the Tennessee River valley, including the establishment of Huntsville in 1805.

Contents

To be listed here a site must:

List

BuildingImageLocationFirst builtTypeNotes
Mississippian Mounds, e.g. Moundville Moundville Archaeological Site Alabama.jpg Throughout state800–1600Earthen moundsThough no original Native American buildings remain above ground, a number of constructed platform mounds have been preserved including the 58 ft tall Mound B at the Moundville Site.
Joel Eddins House Joel Eddins House.jpg Huntsville 1808HouseThe oldest documented building in the state. This European American influenced log cabin was moved from Ardmore, Alabama to its current location at Burritt on the Mountain museum in 2007. [1] [2]
Jude-Crutcher House Jude-Crutcher House Oct 2011 01.jpg Huntsville 1812HouseSecond oldest building and oldest surviving log dogtrot style house in the state. The breezeway has been enclosed and the exterior is now covered in clapboard. [3] [4] 2132 Winchester Rd NW, Huntsville AL, 35810
Poplar Grove (LeRoy Pope House) Leroy Pope Mansion by Highsmith 01.jpg Huntsville 1813HouseThe third oldest building in the state, and the oldest masonry building in the state. Constructed by LeRoy Pope, the "Father of Huntsville", and visited by General Andrew Jackson on his return from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. [5] The original federal style facade has seen the later addition of a Greek Revival portico.
Urquhart House Urquhart House March 2013 2.jpg Huntsville 1813HouseTied with Poplar Grove as third oldest building in the state. Vacant. [6] 199 Routt Rd, Toney, Alabama, 35773
Perkins-Winston House VIEW OF FRONT, FACES WEST - Perkins-Orgain-Winston House, 401 Lincoln Street, Huntsville, Madison County, AL HABS ALA,45-HUVI,13-1.tif Huntsville 1815HouseEarly Huntsville home. [7]
William Reed House Birmingham 1816HouseEarly homestead. [8] [9] 888 Twin Lake Dr NE Birmingham, AL 35215, United States
Hill of Howth EXTERIOR (REAR VIEW) - Hill of Howth, County Road 19, Boligee, Greene County, AL HABS ALA,32-BOLI.V,1-2.tif Boligee 1816HouseEarly homestead. [10]
Rev Thomas Newton House Ashville 1817HouseEarly homestead. [11] [12] Barton Lane, Asheville AL 35953, United States
Lucas Tavern (Old Alabama Town) Montgomery 1818Tavern/InnOldest surviving tavern in the state and the oldest building in the city of Montgomery. It is famous for hosting the Marquis de Lafayette during his 1825 trip through Alabama. Now stands at Old Alabama Town. [13]
John Looney House John Looney House.jpg Ashville 1818HouseThe oldest two story dogtrot house in the state. [14]
Cedarwood Cedarwood, Greensboro, Hale County, AL HABS ALA,33-GREBO.V,1- (sheet 4 of 6).png Moundville 1818HousePossibly the earliest surviving plantation in the black belt region of Alabama. Restored and relocated to The University of West Alabama in Livingston . [15] [16]
Hickman Cabin (Joseph Wheeler Plantation) Pond Spring Plantation 04.jpg Wheeler 1818HouseA log dogtrot home. [17]
Erskine House Huntsville 1818HouseEarly Huntsville home. [18] 517 Franklin St SE, Huntsville, AL 35801, United States
Phelps-Jones House Phelps-Jones House Oct 2011 02.jpg Huntsville 1818HouseEarly Huntsville home. [19]
The Molett House
The Molett House 1819.png
Orrville1819HouseThe oldest house in Alabama owned and occupied by the family that built it. It is also documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), 1934.
Sadler House Sadler House 7.jpg McCalla 1819HouseThis home may have originally consisted of an circa 1819 log pen that was later expanded upon. [20]
Weeden House Weeden House July 2010 01.jpg Huntsville 1819HouseEarly Huntsville home. [21]
McGuire-Strickland House McGuire-Strickland House, Tuscaloosa, AL 2018.jpg Tuscaloosa 1820HouseThe oldest building in the city of Tuscaloosa. [22]
Goode–Hall House Saunders mansion.jpg Town Creek 1824HouseThis Tennessee Valley plantation house is one of the deep South's outstanding expressions of Jeffersonian Palladian architecture. [23]
G&J Sutherland Store Historic downtown Tuscumbia, Alabama LCCN2010640298.tif Tuscumbia 1824StorePossibly the state's oldest surviving commercial building. The white building in the picture, its exterior details have been changed with time. [24]
Masonic Lodge #3 Perdue Hill Masonic Hall 01.jpg Perdue Hill 1824Courthouse/Masonic LodgeFormer courthouse and Masonic lodge originally built in Claiborne, one of early Alabama's largest settlements. Visited and reportedly dedicated by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1825 during his tour of the United States. Moved to its present location in Perdue Hill in 1884. [25] [26]
Indian Springs Baptist Church McWilliams 1825ChurchPossibly the state's oldest surviving religious building. [27] [28] Indian Springs Road, Beatrice, AL 36425, United States
Old Rock Jail Coosa County Alabama Jail.JPG Rockford 1825JailThe state's oldest jail. [29]
Lassiter House Lassiter House 02.JPG Autaugaville 1825HouseOne of the state's earliest examples of the I-house form. [30]
Vincent-Doan House Vincent-Doan House.jpg Mobile 1827HouseThe state's oldest surviving example of French colonial influenced architecture and the oldest building in the city of Mobile. [31]
John McMahon House McMahon Home 2013.jpg Courtland 1828HouseArchitecturally significant example of an early Alabama Federal-style structure that reflects the carryover of Atlantic Seaboard architectural forms introduced by Virginia settlers. [32]
Bride's Hill Bride's Hill, Lawrence County, AL.JPG Wheeler 1828HouseOldest surviving example of a Tidewater-type cottage in Alabama. Vacant.
Dancy-Polk House Dancy-Polk House June 2013 2.jpg Decatur 1829HouseOldest building in the city of Decatur. [33]
Collins-Marston House Collins-Marston House 01.JPG Mobile 1832HousePossibly the state's oldest surviving example of a creole cottage style house. [34]
Old State Bank Old State Bank Decatur July 2010 02.jpg Decatur 1833BankThe first state bank and oldest bank building in the state. [30]
Barton Academy Barton Academy by Highsmith.jpg Mobile 1836SchoolThe first public school in the state of Alabama. [35]
Somerville Courthouse Somerville Courthouse Feb 2012 02.jpg Somerville 1837CourthouseThe oldest surviving masonry courthouse in the state. [36] The structure bears much resemblance to the first Alabama state house, once located in Cahawba.
Arlington Antebellum Home & Gardens Arlington Place 02.jpg Birmingham 1845HouseThe oldest building in the city of Birmingham. [37]
Langdon Hall Langdon Hall.jpg Auburn 1846ChurchThe oldest building in the city of Auburn. [38]
Old Shelby County Courthouse OldShelbyCountyCourthouse.jpg Columbiana 1854CourthouseOriginal courthouse for the county of Shelby County, replaced by a larger marble courthouse in 1908. The structure still stands and is currently the Shelby County Museum and Archives. [39]
Bryce Hospital Bryce State Hospital Tuscaloosa Alabama USA.jpg Tuscaloosa 1861Mental Health InstitutionAlabama's first and oldest state mental health facility.
Rickwood Field Rickwood Field.jpg Birmingham 1910Baseball parkThe oldest surviving professional baseball park in the United States. [30]

Demolished early Alabama buildings

Issac Bett House, Burnt Corn Alabama [40]

The existing house once located at 308 Conti Street (now moved) in Mobile may contain portions of a 1796 structure. [41]

Sandy Hill Plantation

The Oaks

Shelby Hotel

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsville, Alabama</span> City in North Alabama, US

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cahaba, Alabama</span> Archaeological site in Alabama, United States

Cahaba, also spelled Cahawba, was the first permanent state capital of Alabama from 1820 to 1825. It was the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama until 1866. Located at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, the town endured regular seasonal flooding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellicott's Stone</span> Historic boundary marker in Mobile County, Alabama, US

Ellicott's Stone, also known as the Ellicott Stone, is a boundary marker in northern Mobile County, Alabama. It was placed on April 10, 1799, by a joint U.S.-Spanish survey party headed by Andrew Ellicott. It was designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noble Hall</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Noble Hall, also known as the Frazer-Brown-Pearson Home, is a historic Greek Revival style plantation house in Auburn, Alabama. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Vernon Arsenal</span> United States historic place

The Mount Vernon Arsenal is a former United States Army munitions depot (arsenal), was used as a prison for captured Native Americans, and was served as a psychiatric hospital. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Mount Vernon, Alabama. The site is home to the now closed Searcy Hospital. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 26, 1988, as the Mount Vernon Arsenal-Searcy Hospital Complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas Mill</span> United States historic place

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.

This is a list of media in the Mobile, Alabama metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenville, Alabama</span> Unincorporated community in Alabama, United States

Glenville is an unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, United States which used to be in Barbour County. During the Civil War, Company "H" of the 15th Regiment Alabama Infantry was raised from Barbour and Dale counties and called the "Glenville Guards". The Glennville Historic District, containing the antebellum core of the community, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Henry C. Dudley (1813–1894), known also as Henry Dudley, was an English-born North American architect, known for his Gothic Revival churches. He was a founding member of the American Institute of Architects and designed a large number of churches, among them Saint Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse, New York, built in 1884, and Trinity Church, completed in 1858.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bragg–Mitchell Mansion</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

The Bragg–Mitchell Mansion, also known as the Bragg–Mitchell House, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in 1855 by Judge John Bragg and is one of the most photographed buildings in the city as well as one of the more popular tourist attractions. The house has been attributed to John's brother, a local Alabama architect, Alexander J. Bragg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thornhill (Forkland, Alabama)</span> Historic house in Alabama, United States

Thornhill is a historic plantation near Forkland, Alabama. The Greek Revival main house was built in 1833 by James Innes Thornton. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 10, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Alabama</span> 22nd U.S. state, located in Southern U.S.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Alabama:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antebellum architecture</span> Neoclassical architectural style characteristic of the 19th-century Southern United States

Antebellum architecture is the neoclassical architectural style characteristic of the 19th-century Southern United States, especially the Deep South, from after the birth of the United States with the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War. Antebellum architecture is especially characterized by Georgian, Neo-classical, and Greek Revival style homes and mansions. These plantation houses were built in the southern American states during roughly the thirty years before the American Civil War; approximately between the 1830s to 1860s.

This is a list of the 26 multiple property submissions on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama. They contain more than 288 individual listings of the more than 1,200 on the National Register in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwood (Alexandria, Alabama)</span> Historic Antebellum plantation house

Greenwood, also known as the Green–Woodruff House, is a historic Antebellum plantation house in Alexandria, Alabama, U.S.. It was once part of the Greenwood Plantation, which had been worked by enslaved people. Some six generations of the Green–Woodruff family owned the house.

References

  1. "Burritt on the Mountain - Huntsville Museum, Education, History".
  2. House legacy.decaturdaily.com [ dead link ]
  3. "George Jude House - Huntsville, Alabama". Archived from the original on 2013-08-18. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  4. "David and Lucy Crutcher House". 2 August 2010.
  5. "Huntsville, Alabama | G.I.S. Division | Historic Markers Site". Archived from the original on 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2013-08-18.
  6. "5 things to know about Madison County's 200-year-old log Urquhart house (Odd Travels with photo gallery)". 4 June 2013.
  7. "Perkins-Orgain-Winston House, 401 Lincoln Street, Huntsville, Madison County, AL". Library of Congress .
  8. "William Reed House".
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Hill of Howth, County Road 19, Boligee, Greene County, AL". Library of Congress .
  11. "Landmark Hunter". www.landmarkhunter.com.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2020-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Lucas Tavern / Circa 1818 - Montgomery, Alabama - Alabama Historical Markers on". Waymarking.com. 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  14. "Looney House".
  15. "Article 404 - Tuscaloosa News - Tuscaloosa, AL".
  16. BB Connection centerforblackbelt.org December 2012 [ dead link ]
  17. "Alabama Historical Commission - Pond Spring/Gen. Joseph Wheeler Home". Archived from the original on 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  18. "HHC". huntsvillehistorycollection.org.
  19. Gamble, Robert S. (December 1980). "Phelps-Jones House". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  20. "Sadler Plantation House - McCalla, Alabama". www.exploresouthernhistory.com.
  21. "The House's History". Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  22. "The Capitol School". Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  23. "NPGallery Asset Detail".
  24. "State's oldest commercial building still kicking". 28 November 2010.
  25. "Claiborne Encyclopedia of Alabama" . Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  26. "Masonic Lodge Marker - Historic Markers Across Alabama" . Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  27. "Indian Springs Baptist Church near McWilliams, AL (built ca. 1825)". RuralSWAlabama.
  28. "Alabama's picturesque antebellum log and wooden churches". 6 March 2014.
  29. "Old Rock Jail & Museum".
  30. 1 2 3 "National Register". Archived from the original on 2010-12-04. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
  31. "Home". mobilemedicalmuseum.com.
  32. "Asset Detail".
  33. "Historic Decatur Christmas Tour - Carriage rides". Archived from the original on 2012-11-30. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  34. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64000005_text
  35. "Home".
  36. Photo flickr.com [ dead link ]
  37. "City of Birmingham-Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens". Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  38. "Langdon Hall :: AU". Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  39. "Courthouse | Shelby County, AL - Official Website". www.shelbyal.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  40. "Burnt Corn, Alabama".
  41. "308-310 Conti Street (Double House), Mobile, Mobile County, AL". Library of Congress .