On December 6, 1825, the Alabama State Senate agreed to move the state’s capital, then in Cahaba, to the growing town of Tuscaloosa. The history surrounding Tuscaloosa’s time as State Capitol shows a growing and changing series of events in Alabama’s history. Tuscaloosa began to operate as Alabama’s third state capitol in 1826, until 1846 …
In a town called Gallion, Alabama, near Demopolis, lies Waldwic Plantation, also known as William M. Spencer III House. At first glance it may not look like anything special, but Waldwic is actually one of only about twenty remaining Gothic revival homes in Alabama. Greek Revival plantations pervaded Alabama architecture during the 19th century, but …
The John R. Drish House The Drish House, one of the first plantation homes in the city of Tuscaloosa, sits vacant today. Throughout its history the Drish House has been home to many different people and businesses. At its height it would have been one of the finest homes in Alabama, with views that …
The Gorgas House Tuscaloosa, Alabama Built 1829 By: Madison Leavelle The Gorgas House (fig.1), located on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was built in 1829. Not only is it considered to be the first permanent housing structure on campus,[1] but it is also the only surviving structure on campus that assimilated …
In 1841, a college was established in Birmingham, Alabama. That college has since become known as Samford University, a traditional Christian private university. Samford’s location in the hills of Birmingham creates a picturesque backdrop for a campus designed and built in the Georgian-Colonial style by an esteemed architecture firm.[1] In particular, the Hodges Chapel, the …
History The Kirkwood Plantation is a four story Greek Revival House built between 1857 and 1860. Foster Mark Kirksey, a cotton merchant who also had land on the Black Warrior River, commissioned the building in 1857 and it was finished in 1860.[i] It is located in Eutaw, Greene County, Alabama along with about fifty other …
Jemison Mansion: Tuscaloosa, Alabama Abstract The Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion remains one of the most prominent late antebellum era structures in the Tuscaloosa area. This Italianate style building was erected in the 1850s, and remains one of the oldest structures still standing in this area. In addition, the Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion Foundation has …
City’s Crowning Gem The Thomas Jefferson Hotel, located at 1631 2nd Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama, was built by the Union Realty Company in 1925. The architect for the project, David O. Whilldin, was a well-known architect who worked in both Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. The building is nineteen stories tall and held originally three hundred …
HISTORY Kenworthy Hall, also referred to as Carlisle Hall, was built in 1858. It is located in Marion, Alabama. Richard Upjohn built it for a planter and cotton factor named Edward Kenworthy Carlisle.[1] Even though it has been over 50 years since it was built, Kenworthy Hall has never been through a major reconstruction or …
Located only a mile and a half outside of urban downtown Birmingham, Alabama, Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens sits on a sprawling former plantation in a part of the city that before the Civil war was known as Elyton.[i] A look deeper into its architectural style, as well as its past and present functions, gives …