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IMAGES From Nostalgiaville
ALABAMA- FLORENCE, AL- 3/29/03

FLORENCE

DOWNTOWN

HOMES

CHURCHES

SCHOOLS

POST OFFICES

HISTORIC HOMES IN FLORENCE

WOOD AVENUE HISTORIC DISTRICT
A residential neighborhood primarily developed between 1880 and 1930. The District contains elaborate Queen Anne classic Georgian Revival and the more modest Bungalow styles of architecture as well as two homes of the Plantation Cottage style dating from the 1820's. Notable residents of Wood Avenue, formerly Market Street, were Tom Stribiling, Pulitzer Prize winning author, George Goethals, Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal and Helen Keller, who resided on Wood Avenue while attending public school. The neighborhood has experienced very little change since the early 1900's.

MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS HOME (1888 - 1907)
The great engineering genius of the Panama Canal lived at this site from 1888 until 1907. As a young lieutenant, Goethals was sent to Florence to speed up the work on the Muscle Shoals Canal Project which effectively by-passed the serious river impediment known as the Muscle Shoals. His successful accomplishments here were considered as an apprenticeship that led to his renowned work in the building of the Panama Canal (1908 - 1914). Goethals later remarked that his work on the Muscle Shoals Canal loomed far larger in his memory than the canal in Panama.

NORTH WOOD AVENUE HISTORIC DISTRICT EXPANSION (1832 - 1930)
This expansion includes all the houses on East Hawthorne and Meridian Streets and many on Kendrick Street with ages ranging from an 1832 townhouse to bungalows built in the 1920's. In July 1862, the Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell camped on the grounds of the Benjamin Franklin Foster home which extended from Hawthorne Street to Circular Road (Nellie Avenue). The Malone House at 226 West Hawthorne Street served as Buell's military hospital. Confederate breastworks were constructed here during the early years of the Civil War.

SEMINARY - O'NEAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
Named for the O'Neal family which produced two Alabama governors and for seminary, the street on which the Synodical Female College was located, the Seminary - O'Neal Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Built between 1908 and 1943, the houses in the district reflect the variety of architectural styles of those years. Two Sears - Roebuck houses, called "American Four-Square", add interest and distinction. The district opens onto the impressive campus of the University of North Alabama.

COLONEL PICKETT PLACE (1883)
This "double-pile cottage" is a rare Alabama example of Tidewater architecture that originated along the Southern seaboard during the colonial period. This house was built in 1833 by Thomas j Crowe, proprietor of the early National Hotel in Florence as a wedding gift for his bride. Elizabeth Hooks of Tennessee. It later became the home of Richard Oric Pickett, who arrived in 1843 to become one of the town's leading attorneys. Pickett was Colonel of the 10th Alabama Infantry under General Philip Roddey, called the "Defender of North Alabama" during the Civil War.

WALNUT STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT
Walnut Street began as a residential area in the national economic boom of the 1880's and 1890's and continued its development through the 1920's. Industries and businesses grew in Florence, the population of the city increased, and business and professional people built their homes in this typical residential neighborhood. The street remains intact and reflects the changes in architectural styles from 1890's Victorian to the 1920's bungalow. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

CHERRY STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT (Early 20th Century)
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, this district contains 52 structures, most of which were built after 1900. Cherry Street was laid out in 1818 near the east boundary of Florence. Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas Sigismund Stribling portrayed Cherry Street in his novel, "The Store". Angel's Corner at Cherry and Tuscaloosa Streets was named for the James h Angel Grocery Store which was established about 1905. This was a popular streetcar stop during the era of the streetcars.

EDWARD A O'NEAL HOME
Home of the Father - -Son Governors. Built in 1840's. Acquired 1857 by Edward Asbury O'Neal. Occupied various times during Civil War by Federals and Confederates. Edward A O'Neal (1818 - 1890) attended LaGrange College. Lawyer, Colonel of the 28th Alabama Regiment, C S A. Appointed brigadier general. Governor (1882 - 1886). Emmet O'Neal (1853 - 1922), lawyer, Governor (1911 - 1915). Lived in nearby Courtview.

SANNONER HISTORIC DISTRICT
Named for Ferdinand Sannoner, who surveyed the town of Florence for the Cypress Land Company in 1818. The district contains twenty-five structures of historic and architectural significance on North Court and North Pine Streets. Wealthy planters, lawyers, and merchants occupied the six fine antebellum homes. Courtview (1855), Governor Edward Asbury O'Neal House (1840's), Irvine Place (1843), Conner Place (1854), Wakefield (1820's), and Hickory Place (James Irvine House, 1832). Other structures date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.