Bluff Hall

Bluff Hall is a historic residence in Demopolis, Alabama, United States. The original portion of the house is in the Federal style with later additions that altered it to the Greek Revival style.[2] It was documented as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936,[3] and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.[1] It serves as a historic house museum, with the interior restored to an 1850s appearance.[4]

Bluff Hall
Bluff Hall in 2008
Location405 N. Commissioners Avenue
Demopolis, Alabama
Coordinates32°31′13″N 87°50′25″W
Built1832
Architectural styleFederal, Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.70000105
Added to NRHPJuly 28, 1970[1]

History

The house was built in 1832 by Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah Serena Glover, and her husband, Francis Strother Lyon. The house was built by slaves. The Lyons used Bluff Hall as a townhouse; they also owned several outlying plantations. Bluff Hall was one of several homes built atop a limestone cliff overlooking the Tombigbee River, known as White Bluff, on land that Francis Lyon had purchased a few years earlier from the town commissioners of Demopolis.[4]

The house was altered in the 1840s with the addition of the two-story front portico and a large rear wing. The new rear wing contained the dining room and kitchen at ground level and two bedrooms on the second floor. This new construction also added the other Greek Revival details.[4]

The house remained in the Lyon family until 30 October 1907 when it was sold to A. R. Smith. The Smith family maintained it as a residence into the 1940s, though the upper floors were converted to apartments. The house was sold again in 1948 and continued as apartments. The Marengo County Historical Society purchased the house on 22 March 1967 in order to restore and convert it to a historic house museum.[4]

Description

The house is a two-story brick structure, with portions covered by smooth stucco. The front portico features six two-story square columns, constructed in brick with a stucco finish. These columns are very similar to nearby Lyon Hall. The balcony under the portico spans the width of the entrance doors and is supported by wrought iron brackets. The double parlor in the interior features two columns that were an anniversary gift to the Lyons from the Whitfield family. The Whitfields lived nearby at Gaineswood.[4]

  • The front facade in 2008
  • Entrance hall in 1935
  • Parlor in 1935
  • Dining room in 1935
  • Gate and east elevation in 1935

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Walker, Patricia; Thomas Graham (1999). "Bluff Hall". Directory of Historic House Museums in the United States. Rowman Altamira. p. 1. ISBN 0-7425-0344-5.
  3. Floyd, Katherine (1936). "Bluff Hall". HABS AL-213. Historic American Buildings Survey. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Marengo County Heritage Book Committee: The heritage of Marengo County, Alabama, page 15. Clanton, Alabama: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000. ISBN 1-891647-58-X
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