Shirley Place, 512 MainAvenue, Northport
Houses and homes
Historic house museums
James Shirley (1809-1866), an early Northport pioneer settler from South Carolina, built the house of brick about 1840. Shirley also built the first brick commercial buildings in Northport in 1850, after a fire burned the entire district. One of the buildings is still standing and presently, in 2013, houses Kelley's 5- and 10-cent Store at 412 Main Avenue.
At the death of Shirley and his wife, the house became the property of William Lewis Christian, brother of James Shirley's wife. William L. Christian (1824-1899) operated a Northport hat factory which was burned by General John Croxton in April 1865. William L. Christian served in the Confederate Army and after the Civil War became a merchant. His descendants have continued serving Northport and Tuscaloosa County as leading merchants and outstanding citizens.
James Christian (1796-1852), father of William L. Christian, was a veteran of the War of 1812.
Many of the original doors, locks and fireplaces of the house are still in use. The bricks, which have never been painted, are slave-made and are unusually large in size. The house is a raised Creole cottage in the Greek Revival style with curving steps leading from the ground to the second floor. White Ionic columns support the roof and beams in the downstairs are are exposed, showing wood peg construction. In 1978, the home was owned and occupied by the George W. Christian family.
("Past Horizons," Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, 1978)
Marvin Harper owned the house after the Christian family, and upon his death, the house became the property of the city of Northport and is maintained as a local attraction open for tours.
.
Tuscaloosa News Archive
May 1, 2009
Betty Slowe (Description)
The Tuscaloosa News
Photograph
281
Northport (AL)
The Moody-Warner House, 1925 8th Street
Houses and homes
The Moody-Warner House, was built around 1822 by Davis Scott as a home when he came to Tuscaloosa as a merchant.
The house had a series of owners until it became the home of the Washington Moodys. Moody was the grandson of the founder of the First National Bank.
The house was restored in 1977 by Jack Warner and the David Warner Foundation and opened as a museum in honor of Jack Warner's mother, Mildred Grace Westervelt Warner (1893-1974).
The museum closed and the house was put up for sale in 2003.
Past Horizons, p. 18
Tuscaloosa News
Betty Slowe (Description)
Photograph
278
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Guild-Verner House, 1904 University Boulevard, circa 1978
Houses and homes
Guild, Dr. James
Verner, C. B.
Built about 1822 by Dr. James Guild, the house was the first brick residence in the city. Guild was a trustee of the University of Alabama and the Alabama Insane (now Bryce) Hospital, a member of the state legislature, and a practicing physician.
His son, Dr. Lafayette Guild, was chief medical officer for Gen. Robert E. Lee during the Civil War.
The house was sold to John Snow in 1881 and two years later to his brother, Dr. Charles Snow. The Snows were double first cousins of President John Quincy Adams.
The C.B. Verners acquired the house in 1911 and added the columns, side porch and other classic details. The house was originally Georgian style but currently is Greek Revival style architecture.
The house suffered through many owners, a fire, and vandalism until concerned citizens prevailed upon the Tuscaloosa City Commission to save the landmark. In 1977, the Home Builders Association of Tuscaloosa, Inc. restored the house and the staffs of the Home Builders and the Tuscaloosa Board of Realtors moved into it.
Currently, it houses the office of S.T. Bunn Construction Company, Inc.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
("Past Horizons," Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, 1978)
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Betty Slowe (Description)
Photograph
277
Tuscaloosa (AL)