Twickenham Historic Preservation District Association Collection

The Twickenham Historic Preservation District Collection documents the history, architecture, and preservation of one of Huntsville, Alabama’s most significant historic neighborhoods. The district takes its name from “Twickenham,” the first official name given to the settlement in 1810, before it was renamed Huntsville in 1811. During the early nineteenth century, the community grew rapidly and became one of the most prosperous settlements in the Alabama Territory. By the mid-nineteenth century, Huntsville had emerged as a major cotton-trading center in the Tennessee Valley, attracting merchants, attorneys, bankers, and other civic leaders who built substantial homes in the area, many of which still shape the district today. Twickenham is widely recognized as having the “largest concentration of antebellum homes in Alabama,” and it reflects more than two centuries of architectural development. Buildings within the district reflect a wide range of architectural styles, including Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Craftsman Bungalow, Colonial Revival, and various twentieth-century residential styles. Many of the earliest houses date to the 1810s and 1820s, representing the tastes and ambitions of Huntsville’s early residents. The district also includes churches, schools, commercial buildings, civic structures, and public spaces that show how the community changed over time. The Civil War left a lasting mark on Twickenham. During the Union occupation of Huntsville from 1862 to 1865, several homes in the district were seized and used by Union officers and military personnel. Because many of these residences survived the war and later periods of urban redevelopment, Twickenham retains an unusually intact collection of nineteenth-century structures. The preservation of these buildings has allowed historians and residents to study Huntsville’s social, economic, and cultural history from the territorial period through the twentieth century. Recognizing the importance of these resources, the City of Huntsville adopted a historic preservation ordinance in 1971. Twickenham became the city’s first locally designated historic preservation district in 1972 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The district was among the earliest historic districts recognized in Alabama and helped establish a model for preservation efforts in the city. A major resurvey and an expanded National Register nomination, completed in 2015, documented hundreds of contributing resources and reaffirmed the district’s significance. The Twickenham Historic Preservation Distric Collection reflects the work of residents, preservation advocates, neighborhood associations, and local officials committed to protecting Huntsville’s historic character. The materials document preservation initiatives, neighborhood planning, architectural surveys, educational programs, and community engagement over several decades. Together, the collection provides an important resource for understanding the development of historic preservation in Huntsville and the continued effort to preserve one of Alabama’s most historically and architecturally significant neighborhoods.

Sources: CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, TWICKENHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALABAMA, TWICKENHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT

"A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWICKENHAM HISTORIC PRESERVATION DISTRICT" BOX 2 FOLDER 1