Virtual visit of the town of Mooresville, Alabama. Pictures, history, description, comments, on American history and southern states. All photographs were taken by Dominique & Vincent Schneider. This is not the official page of Mooresville, Alabama. This private site is not subsidized, and not sponsored by any organization, association, nor club.
All photographs were taken by Dominique & Vincent Schneider. You can view the
slideshow in a pop-pup window if your browser allows it. The first time you access this
web page it will take some time to download all the pictures, be patient and refresh your
screen if needed. Once the pictures are downloaded by your browser, the slideshow will
begin. In this case, keep the pop-up window always on top (foreground). Concerning the
automatic function, the waiting period is 17 seconds between images. Each web page picture
has a blend changeover of 2 seconds. On slow connection (or slow network or MODEM), it may
appear as a ghost/flickering of the image. Press on any camera icon 
of this page
to view a picture in the main window and the automatic display of all the pictures will
start .
Ralph G. Poriss: Owner of a number of letters
written by Frank H. Peebles of Mooresville, Alabama. A few were written during The Civil
War - a number were written before the war. Can you give me any informaton about this man
and his family? Your help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
| Please contact: Ralph G. Poriss 100 West Kingswood Drive Williamsburg, Virginia 23185 Tel No. 1 757 221 8221 |
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This page was created in September 1998.
Some of the information below is directly taken from the "A Walking Tour Of Mooresville" pamphlet (copyright 1989). Mooresville is located out of Huntsville directly at the opposite of Gurley. The text in green is an excerpt of the "A Walking Tour Of Mooresville" pamphlet (copyright 1989). To obtain more detailed descriptions you can purchase this small booklet for a value of $3 at the Mooresville post office. If you are interested by architecture and world history, you are advised to visit another of our web pages about a town located in France and named Aix-en-Provence (Aquaea Sextia). It was established in 122 BC by the consul Caïus Sextius Calvinus on the location of thermal water sources, and became a colony under Caesar... it is the home town of the author of this web page...
The first settlers around Mooresville arrived here as early as 1805 and settled on lands belonging to the Chickasaw Indians. By 1816-1818 the Chickasaws had ceded the land to the Federal government. At the time that Limestone County of the Alabama Territory had a population of about 4,500. Alabama was admitted to the Union in December 14, 1818, supposedly the 62 residents of Mooresville petitioned to be incorporated and were recognized in November 1818 making the town older than the state.Mooresville is about one square mile in area and was laid out with some of the streets and lots that you see today. Many details have been altered over the years from natural causes and neglect. Like many other towns, the business community that supported the agricultural base has disappeared as mechanization has increased.
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Huntsville and surrounding inhabitants: You are welcome to get involved and to customize
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Zeitler-Hill-Mc Lain House. Begun 1927, completed in 1945. Some doors and other components are from early 19th century structures. The house is built on the site of the town square. The design recalls the Greek Revival period with emphasis placed on columns and symmetry. The circular fanlight over the entryway would have been common in the Federal period. |
Alabama International Links is on the web since 1995 on C.I.S.
| Martin-Smith-Davis House. 1875. The land on which the house is located was first mentioned in regard to a homestead by W.G. and Wilburn Martin in 1873. Piney Street was originally to have passed through the property. A second story was added about 1932 by the new owners, the J. Sam Smith family. They also enlarged the original bedroom into a dining room. J. Sam Smith was a blacksmith and cabinetmaker at the blacksmith shop located on Market Street. The yellow house beyond the barn was the Smith's cook's house. The calaboose was located just beyond the cook's house, and just beyond it was the home of Aunt Julia Seay. | |
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Martin-Bibb-Richardson House "Cedar Lane" 1870. Located on the site of the Mooresville Female Seminary, which was destroyed by Union soldiers who used the materials for campfires, chimneys, and walls of officers' quarters. The cedars lining the front walkway are 170 years old. The house was built by the Martin family. Originally there use to be three houses identical to this one. Two were lost to fire. The charm of the house is greatly enhanced by its setting. Its design is very conservative, for in this period most of the country was caught up in the High Gothic Revival. Perhaps the fact that it was built in the Reconstruction period was an influence. |
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| Campbell-Woodruff-HiIl-Pollard House 1826. This Federal period house was built by Donald Campbell. The portico appears to have been a later addition as the massiveness of its proportions are exactly opposite to the typical light Federal proportions of the house. Eave details are typically Federal, the house has a full basement where the dining room was previously located. The entry has a Victorian glass fan light which was probably added in the 1890's. The clapboard well house is the structure closest to the house; the little clapboard building with a chimney was the office of the physician Dr. J.W. Hill. The brick building is the original smokehouse; and the beautifully· weathered clapboard was probably the house of a servant. | |
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Aunt Mendy and Uncle Zack Simmons Cottage 1890. Uncle Zack Simmons was a black carpenter. An event looked forward to by residents of Mooresville was the party the couple gave each year for the whole town. This cottage, one of the most beautiful houses in Mooresville, is typical of Downing Gothic, which was popular in the latter half of the 19th Century. A.J. Downing popularized this style through numerous architectural handbooks. The curved brackets at the porch and the extreme vertical proportions of the windows are characteristics of Gothic Revival cottages. The house is of remarkable sophistication in design and workmanship for such a small cottage and is therefore rare for its type and important to preserve. |
You are invited to visit another small southern town Gurley, in Alabama.
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Peebles Homestead 1924 This house replaced a much older dwelling. The stone was quarried on Piney Creek on the Peebles family farm. The initials and sills of the windows were originally curbstones from Huntsville. |
Brick Church 1839 The property on
which the church stands was donated by Governor Thomas Bibb and his wife Pamela to be used
for a community church. It was eventually acquired by the Cumberland Presbyterian
denomination. The church was used by the Methodists for at least 63 years and has served
as a Baptist mission. Worship services have not been held here for the last 35 years. |
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| Post Office Built after 1840 of sawmill lumber. Corner of Lauderdale and
High Streets. Owned by the town of Mooresville. One method to date a building is to
examine the wood. If there are axe marks, the structure is probably prior to 1840. The
heaviness of the lumber and the pegged joints were common in earlier structures, pointing
up the fact that many carpenters used earlier methods of building. The handmade bricks of
the chimney could indicate an earlier date. This building illustrates well the meaning of
"patina" - the beauty of the wood from weathering and age. The mailboxes and office furnishings are from the original post office in the tavern. The post boxes are numbered 1-48; some families have had the same box number for several generations. Box rental is $12 per year. Mrs. Barbara Coker of Decatur is the Post Master. She was made an honorary citizen of Mooresville in recognition of her many services to the town. The first post office was in the 1820's Stagecoach Inn on High Street. In the early years, mail was delivered by stagecoach three times a week. Before 1885, mail was received without stamps affixed and the postmaster computed the amount of postage due based on the number of miles the letter had been transported. This facility is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest operating post office in the State of Alabama. It was the subject of a First Day cover in 1976. Many of our customers are stamp collectors. The exterior of the building is made of poplar lumber. This building was the Town's first restoration project and accomplished through funds and materials donated by its residents. Bricks for the forecourt were donated by the residents about eight years ago as were the chairs, table and decorative objects in the lobby. Most photographs in the lobby were made and loaned by Frank Richardson. Various prints and sketches in the lobby were loaned or given by friends and residents. In 1964, the Bibb "General Store" portion of this building was closed and now serves as the mail sorting area and supply room. The building behind the post office has had a variety of tenants and functions, among them an automobile repair shop, a grist mill and a movie set (livery stable office for Tom and Huck). This is a full-service post office, allowing debit/credit card purchase of postage. All mail deposited inside the post office receives a hand-stamped Mooresville postmark. A listing of all Postmasters serving this office since 1819 is displayed on the bulletin board. All mail is handed out over the counter from the 1820's box section which was reportedly moved here from the Stagecoach Inn in the 1840's. There is no street delivery. About every three months, there is a Saturday morning Post Office Party for fellowship, refreshments and light business. The large tree in front is a hackberry and is about 70 years old. |
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| Before 1825. On March 3, 1818, by an Act of Congress, Mooresville was linked to Huntsville by a road, authorizing mail delivery to and from Huntsville and authorizing the establishment of a post office. Mail was carried by horse and rider. The building was constructed by Criffin Lampkin and has had several owners, including David E. Putnev who bought it in 1825 for $1,500... (see pamphlet for more information) | |
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The church was built as a Christian Church in 1854 and later
became the Church of Christ. The church site was purchased from James Clements of Madison
County in 1851. The entry vestibule and the rear wing were added about 1937. Note the
uneven lap of clapboards. It was not considered to be important to lap them evenly on most
buildings. The church was built in the later Greek Revival period but detailing is still
reminiscent of the earlier Federal period. Perhaps the detailing of the Greek Revival was
prohibitively expensive or perhaps those in charge of the building did not want to be
modern. General James A. Garfield preached here during the Civil War while encamped at Bibb's Spring in 1863 with the 42nd Regiment of the Ohio Volunteers. Regular services are held in the church. (see pamphlet for more information) |
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| Underwood House. 1988. This house is a replica of the Croning shield/Bentleg house built in 1730 in Salem, Massachusetts. It has a 3-story design with twin center halls and stairways, and authentic detailing. | |
Our information concerning the state of Alabama, its population, geography, link to the governor's web page, state facts, Dixie, map of USA...
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Sneed House, "Shop House" 1986. This 1780-style saltbox house was completed by Robert and Vene Sneed on the original shop lot adjacent to the blacksmith shop. This lot was also known as the wagon yard, because customers left their wagons there for repairs. |
All photographs were taken by Dominique & Vincent Schneider. You are welcome to download them, but let us know about it. It is the honest thing to do.
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Leftwich-Harris-Lovvorn House, "the Corner House" 1826. A very fine example of Federal period brick. There is no overhang at gable ends and a short molded overhang at drip-ines. The molded brick cornice at the drip- eaves is extremely rare in North Alabama. There is only one other example known (also in Limestone County). The chimney, remodeled at some point, is unusual in that it is set over onto the roof rather than on the outside of the end of the house. The front of the house is intact in that a porch has not been added, since 1820's houses usually did not have porches at all. The house was restored in 1936 by Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Leftwich and was renovated in 1988 by Mr. and Mrs. Lovvorn. |
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| Bailey-Craig-WiImer House. 1865, 1967. This house is unique in Mooresville in that it once served as two separate
houses in two separate places. Now converted to a single dwelling by a walkway or sunroom
and surrounded by brick courtyard, it now has the feel of one house. The small portion or "cottage" was built in 1967 by Allison Baily to reflect a style he calls "Louisiana Colonial derivative." It is of beam and plank construction, with the floor of the upstairs serving as the ceiling for the lower floor, with exposed beams. Mr. Bailey named the house "Tchoupitoulas" after a house located on the street of this name in New Orleans. The mantles in the living room and master bedroom came from this 1780 New Orleans house. The chimney detail is similar to Aunt Mandv and Uncle Zack Simmons' cottage on High Street. The cottage was built to serve as a guest house. The "Big House" was originally located on Railroad Street in a section of Old Decatur and was moved to its current location and connected to the cottage in 1978. The older portion was constructed around 1865. |
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History & virtual visit of Gurley another North Alabama small southern town, with its heart in Dixie. Captain Gurley & the Cumberland Presbyterian congregation, Experimental Aircraft Association, Moontown airport...
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Hurn-Thach-Boozer-McNiell House 1825. The side wing of the house was added in Victorian style in 1840. A porch, since removed, was typical of the Federal period. Two people of more than local renown are associated with this house. As a young man, President Andrew Johnson roomed here while he was apprenticed to Joseph Sloss, the local tailor, who was particularly skilled in the making of frock coats. The house was also the birthplace of an Auburn University President, Charles C. Thach. |
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This is an excerpt of the "A Walking Tour Of Mooresville" brochure (copyright 1989):
In addition to the houses and buildings on the
walking tour, there are several other points of interest. Broad Street
leads to the old Mooresville cemetery. Some Union and Confederate
soldiers are buried there. The spring which gave the town its original water supply can be
reached from the south end of Market Street.
The block containing the tavern, post office, and brick church once
contained several other buildings as well. The tavern had a log stable for the housing of
stage horses . Along North Street the old mule barn stood until recent years.
There was also a cattle dipping tank, whose only remains are its concrete base.
A tailor shop owned by Joseph Sloss was located on the southwest corner
of Piney and Market Streets. Mr. Sloss's specialty was the Prince Albert style coat, which
was a man's double-breasted dress coat with a full skirt reaching to the knees, popular in
the 19th century. Young Andrew Johnson (who would become the 17th U.S. President),
proprietor of a tailor shop in Greenville, Tennessee, came to Mooresville to study under
Mr. Sloss sometime between 1826 and 1835, before he was elected to the Tennessee State
Legislature.
The Mooresville General Merchandising Store may have been located on the
northeast corner of Market and Piney Streets. However, it may have instead been on the
southeast corner.
On Market Street near the Wilmer house stood a house known as the Mollie
Walton cottage. After Miss Walton, the house was owned by Bob Riddles and John Miles. It
had been built in the 1870's by the Martins, who also built the Richardson house on High
Street and the Davis house on Broad Street. When built, these three houses were identical.
Dr. Wither's house and office occupied a large brick building which stood
on Market Street next to the Leftwich- Harris-Lovvorn house. It was torn down in the
1830's.
| Site created / maintained by: ContactEZ.net Dominique G. Schneider. |
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