One Dollar Fall/Winter 1983-4 THE HISTORIC HUNTSVILLE QUARTERLY of Local Architecture and Preservation THE HISTORIC HUNTSVILLE QUARTERLY of Local Architecture and Preservation Vol. X, Nos. 1&2 Fall /Winter 1983-4 Contents 2 from the Editor 3 HISTORY OF EAST HUNTSVILLE by Joberta Wasson 11 THE ORGANIZATION OF A THIRD HISTORIC DISTRICT IN HUNTSVILLE by Marilyn Kavanaugh 19 SEARS MAIL-ORDER HOUSES by Micky Maroney 25 BRAGG-KAVANAUGH HOUSE by Micky Maroney 29 UPDATE DOWNTOWN: A Revolution by Toni Reynolds THE HISTORIC HUNTSVILLE QUARTERLY is published four times a year by the Historic Huntsville Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 786, Huntsville, Alabama 35804. Micky Maroney, Editor. Subscriptions are mailed free to all' Foundation members. from the Editor Historic Huntsville Foundation will be ten years old on April 30! Many people have worked countless hours over these past ten years to make HHF the solid community organization that it is. Pursuing its purpose with much success, HHF continues to promote the preservation of architectural structures and historic sites throughout Huntsville and Madison County, and to increase public awareness of their value to the community. The sale of the HHF cookbook, "Huntsville Entertains", is an on-going project with the proceeds benefitting local preservation. An order blank for this excellent cookbook is located on the last page of the Quarterly, along with a membership application form. Although these books are available through bookstores alnd other outlets, the entire purchase price can abe applied to the Foundation's preservation funds when pruchased directly from HHF. Cover A page from the 1908 Sears Modern Homes Catalog, the first year it was issued. Photographs: Micky Maroney: pp. 11-17 and 26-29 Dr. William S. Reynolds: pp. 31-37 2 History of East Huntsville Addition by Joberta Wasson In 1888, a magnificent Maysville Road extension. subdivision was planned for This is the area which is an east Huntsville suburb by being proposed as a third a local corporation, the Historic District for Hunts­ North Alabama Improvement ville . Company. It was to be the easternmost part of a larger The 1888 plat shows projected plan called "The streets laid out in a semi­ East Huntsville Addition", circular fashion, with fifty- which would encompass a por­ foot lots facing east and tion of what is now the Old west. A broad avenue bisect­ Town Historic District, and ing the center of the semi­ on its western side, would circle leads to a large city include what became the Dal­ park on the western edge of las Textile Mill site, and the district. Streets are much of the adjacent mill generally named for trees, village. such as cypress, magnolia and elm. An exception is the The choice lots were to broad (one hundred feet wide) be situated in an area which central avenue named "Cleve­ extended west only to the land Avenue" in honor of present Andrew Jackson Way, Grover Cleveland, then presi­ north to the street now call­ dent of the United States. ed McCullough Avenue, south This avenue leads to Randolph to Maple Hill Cemetery, and Circle, which curves around east to a projected but never the park. dedicated 15th Street, one block east of the present The toll road, which at 3 1888 Plat of the first planned subdivision - which was never developed - for East Huntsville. Plat information reads: East Huntsville First Subdivision of a Portion of the Lands Belonging to the North Alabama Improvement Co. N. F. Barrett, Landscape Architect R. Jones, Civil Engineer On Feb. 22, 1888 same was duly entered on records of said county. Thomas J. Taylor, J.P.C. 4 that time led to the summit (Corporation Book, page 19), of Monte Sano, crossed the but since more new business area on its south side, and for Huntsville meant more tracks were being laid for a money and more need for new little luxury railroad spur, houses, it also expended con­ the "Dummy Line" which was to siderable effort in wooing lead to the Monte Sano resort northern capitalists into the hotel, then in its heyday. area. A few years before this, One of its most ambi­ Huntsville had been a small tious projects was a real town of less than 5,000 peo­ estate venture, the East ple, suffering from recon­ Huntsville Addition. The struction doldrums. Out­ company acquired land from siders considered it a dead individual owners, 2,000 town, pretty, but of no con­ acres in all, according to sequence. ("Mercury", July the 1889 "Mercury". The plat 13, 1892). However, some for the property was approved enterprising citizens real­ on February 22, 1888. The ized that Huntsville had a following May, lot sales were potential for growth and a launched in the elegant east­ flourishing economy: low ern district, with a day-long building costs, cheap and extravaganza. plentiful labor, a nice cli­ mate, and a water supply Quoting the "Mercury" which was inexpensive and for Wednesday, May 15, 1889: practically inexhaustible. If all this were brought to "In the morning the the attention of northern Chattanooga Cornet Band capitalists, success would be played several fine selec­ assured, reasoned citizens tions in front of the Hunts­ such as Charles Halsey, Mil­ ville Hotel, and at ten o'­ ton Humes and others. They clock the first train on the initiated a campaign of ad­ dummy line left McDonald's vertising Huntsville’s assets Station with two cars loaded in newspapers around the down with men and women, and country. The results could continued making trips during hardly have been better. the day, carrying a full load Businessmen from other cities each trip. and states came, liked what they saw and often stayed. "At twelve o'clock the sale was started with the Two of the most out­ privilege of purchasing the standing were the O’Shaugh- adjoining lot at the price nessy brothers, Michael and paid for the lot bid on, James, from Cincinnati, via which plan was continued Nashville. ("Mercury", April through the day. There was 10, 1889). Michael organized considerable excitement on the North Alabama Improvement the part of the bidders. The Company, a corporation, in first lot was purchased by 1886, and became its presi­ C. H. and W. Halsey for dent. Other stockholders in­ $300.00. (Lots 15 and 16, cluded many local business­ Block 46). men. Its purpose was simply to make money through real "At one p.m. sale dis­ estate and other ventures, continued for an hour to 5 allow the crowd to take ad­ before they left South Dako­ vantage of a grand barbeque. ta, its sights were now set on Huntsville rather than the "A large crowd, many of northwest, and its aims were whom were ladies, followed more or less the same as the carriage containing the those of the North Alabama auctioneer. Sales ended at Improvement Company. Many five p.m." local leaders became stock­ holders, too. With such an auspicious beginning, sales might have This company proved to been expected to continue be the salvation of the North briskly. But they apparently Alabama Improvement Company. did not. We may speculate It bought the entire East that the Addition opened too Huntsville Addition, except soon. Even though the I m ­ for a portion of the western provement Company stockhold­ section which had already ers had worked hard promoting been deeded to the new Dallas Huntsville, the economy did Textile Mill then in con­ not begin to soar until the struction, and to the pro­ early 1890's when many new posed mill village housing industries became fully es­ area adjacent. The entire tablished, among them the elegant eastern portion, the textile mills which were to 285 acre tract which com­ be the cornerstone of pros­ prises the proposed historic perity for many decades. district, was replatted as of May 9, 1892. (Plat Book 1, The ensuing events give pp.34-35). rise to many puzzling ques­ tions: The North Alabama On the new plat, the Improvement Company's foun­ streets run straight north der, Mr. Michael O'Shaugh- and south, east and west. nessy, left town, even though Lots are forty feet wide. he and his wife had recently The streets running east and taken up residence in his west are named for company large and imposing new house directors and other prominent (now called the McCormick citizens, except for exten­ House). This is not to imply sions of Randolph and Clinton that there was scandal in­ Avenues. The side streets volved. There may have been. are merely numbered. (These On the other hand, his depar­ were not named until 1958, ture may have been a mere when there was a general coincidence, or he may have overhaul of Huntsville street gone seeking help for the names, at which time they, ailing company, more likely too, were named for local the latter. Soon after, prominent citizens). The three astute businessmen from fine park on the west is gone Pierre, South Dakota moved to and has been replaced by Huntsville. These men, another park, in the shape of William S. Wells, Tracy W. a square two blocks wide, Pratt and Willard I. Wellman between Wellman and Ward, to drew up a corporation under the south and north; and the laws of South Dakota. Sixth and Eighth, to the west Though it was named the and east. Northwestern Land Association and had probably been formed This time, the project 6 1892 Plat of East Huntsville Addition, developed by the Northwestern Land Association. Plat information reads: East Huntsville Addition to Huntsville, Alabama On Sept. 3rd, 1896 - I made a survey of Blocks 122, 123, 118, 119, and part of Block 124, I found some of the original lot and street stakes and from these found that the streets were now at a variation of 3 , making the angle of the streets N 3 W and the angle of the avenues S 87 W.