The Weeden House

Despite living in Huntsville for more than 40 years, my only outing to the Weeden House was a wedding. Like many Huntsvillians, I grew up with one of Weeden’s poems and prints in my house but had never done a formal visit.

I corrected this last week and am so glad I did. The Weeden House is a gem and Gina James, Museum Director, is passionate about the Weeden House and the history of Huntsville.

For those of you that don’t know, the Weeden House was the home of Maria Howard Weeden, a renowned artist and poet. She lived in the house for 55 of her 58 years-only leaving to live elsewhere during the Civil War. She published four books and was internationally renowned-most well known for her paintings of freed slaves.

The house itself was built in 1819 and Dr. William Weeden purchase the house in 1845 and it was owned by his descendants until the City of Huntsville purchased it in 1956. Howard was the youngest of 10 children and was born and died in the same front parlor of the home. Having suffered from tuberculosis, she wasn’t in the best shape to run a home so she and her sister resided together. Kate ran the home and Howard painted to bring in money.

The house itself is fascinating, featuring walls that are 14 inches thick and solid brick. Not only that, but the bricks were crafted from the soil in the yard. Another interesting tidbit? The mortgage button at the bottom of the stairs. We are used to seeing finials on staircases but back then once your house was paid for, you rolled up the mortgage payment and stuck it in the railing and topped it with a mortgage button. It was a way of showing off in the 1880s. Guests would see the button instead of the finial and know you had “made it.”

More interesting features of the house? The Grandmother Clock from 1770-older than American itself, and the windows. Every room features a different window style that is completely hand carved.

Gina’s enthusiasm is contagious, and she shared two of her favorite things about the home. The first is the Federal architecture-it’s one of the finest examples not only in Huntsville but in the state. The other is Howard herself-and that she spent 55 of her 58 years in the same house.

During the Civil War, the house was used as a Union Headquarters and when Howard and her sister returned, most everything had been looted from the home. The house used to feature much more land but over the years parcels were sold to help the sisters with financial needs.

After they returned, Howard began painting freed African American slaves from the neighborhood. Gina is working on researching and identifying those subjects and hopes to locate their descendants-a prospect that gave me chills. I can’t wait to see how that turns out.

The Weeden House is open for public tours two times a day and those are offered Tuesdays through Saturday. I can’t recommend enough taking the opportunity to tour with Gina. You can confirm hours and fees online. The Weeden House is operated by The Twickenham Historic Preservation District Association with Gina as their only employee and biggest champion of the home.

In addition to serving as a museum, The Weeden House is also available to rent for private events.