Title
Williams-James House, 907 17th Avenue
Subject
Houses and homes
Description
Built around 1835 making it one of the city's oldest structures, this home known as "Ivy Towers" and also as the Williams-James House, was the site where early government leaders mapped local and state political strategy.
Marmaduke Williams, who lost to William Bibb in the first Alabama gubernatorial race, erected the original section of the house in 1835. The property was sold to Dr. Joshua Foster, a Baptist minister, and later to attorney Robison Brown who was land commissioner of the University of Alabama. Brown's daughter, Mrs. W.K.E. James, and his son, four-star Admiral Charles R. Brown, were later residents in the home. Admiral Brown, Commander of the Sixth Fleet (1956-58), was Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Europe (1958-62) until his retirement.
The original house was one-story and "L-shaped." The original double doors with square transom to the hall are intact. The house was built with slave labor. Timbers are cedar logs, hand drawn; cross bracings are 4- by 6-feet and the six-inch walls, some of the first to be plastered in Tuscaloosa, have hand-drawn laths. Nails are square and the weatherboarding beveled. The house became "T-shaped" when a story was added and other additions made. The three end-interior chimneys and the hearths are made of field stone. In 1909, the portico was replaced by a gallery. ("Past Horizons," Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, 1978)
In 1995, the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa bought the house to save it from demolition. After careful architectural and historical research, the commission restored the house. Just as it was nearing completion, arsonists set the house ablaze destroying much of the interior. The house has since been purchased and restored and is privately owned.
Marmaduke Williams, who lost to William Bibb in the first Alabama gubernatorial race, erected the original section of the house in 1835. The property was sold to Dr. Joshua Foster, a Baptist minister, and later to attorney Robison Brown who was land commissioner of the University of Alabama. Brown's daughter, Mrs. W.K.E. James, and his son, four-star Admiral Charles R. Brown, were later residents in the home. Admiral Brown, Commander of the Sixth Fleet (1956-58), was Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in Europe (1958-62) until his retirement.
The original house was one-story and "L-shaped." The original double doors with square transom to the hall are intact. The house was built with slave labor. Timbers are cedar logs, hand drawn; cross bracings are 4- by 6-feet and the six-inch walls, some of the first to be plastered in Tuscaloosa, have hand-drawn laths. Nails are square and the weatherboarding beveled. The house became "T-shaped" when a story was added and other additions made. The three end-interior chimneys and the hearths are made of field stone. In 1909, the portico was replaced by a gallery. ("Past Horizons," Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, 1978)
In 1995, the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa bought the house to save it from demolition. After careful architectural and historical research, the commission restored the house. Just as it was nearing completion, arsonists set the house ablaze destroying much of the interior. The house has since been purchased and restored and is privately owned.
Creator
Tuscaloosa News
Source
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Date
March 30, 2011
Contributor
Elizabeth Bradt (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
407
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Original Format
Photograph