The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1906-10-14
TWO HISTORIC HOMES :.
B DESCRIBED BY MIR. SHEEHAN

came Alabama's first Captain of In
dustry, put his finger down en- the map
and declared that the land he had
bought would one day be the Capital
CITY of Alabama. He never saw tn"
fulflment of his vision, but his energy
prepared the way for It's consEmlra-
ton.
One of the heaviest purchasers at the
MiffedESvilTe sale who bought with
Dexter was John Ashurst a wealthy res
ident of the Miliedgeville section of
Georgia. The lands he bought lay
along Line Crock. Dexter bought to
build city.
His associates bought to secure
plantations and establish estates. y
tradition has it that this old house at
the dawn of the white mans civil-
cation in Montgomery County was built
by Adam Benbow. while another and
perhaps, the more reliable has it that
the material for its construction was
brought all the way from MilledSeville
by Ashurst in the long train of wag-
ons that brought his wealth and slaves
into the new country.
Built In 1918.
All traditions agree that the house
was buil6i'in the year sof 1878. in the
summer following the government land
sale. The house as small and unosten-
tatlons. as It now: seems. was a. nine
days wonder to the pioneer Alabam-
ians. 1t was the first house to be
built in the county that had window
glasses in it. 1t was the first painted
house in the county. With the pos
siblc exception of some of the quarters
| at old Fort Jackson. it was probably
| the first frame house erected in the
| county. .T'*f 'A-s ~ r. - = T.
The pioneer neighbors of the enter
| prising builders had to content them
| selves with hewn log houses, with the
| big wide hall of puncheon boards divid-
ing.
/ IAN ambitious house Of plasrcd 1lun
Der with window glasses and white
| paint drew the neighbors from miles
| around. 1t is said that the pioneers for
| a radius of twenty miles rode over to
see the new building which became
known as the White House. n name
| that clings to it to this day, although
! in this day it is hard to appreciate the
| wonder that this small and unostep-
| tatfous house according to modern
| standards aroused among the Mont
| gomery pioneers.
| But the house was faithfully and
strongly built If home SO, far from
the city was in. demand and D country
hone.Ewas Held in the degree of es-
| TEEN in which 1T was held before the
war this old house. now nearly ninety
years Of age, could be put In an ex-
cellent condition for the outlay of a
| few dollars.
| Yet it was put together with wooden
| pins. But the pins were of heart pine
and they are faithfully doing their
duty to this day. \ few nails
| were used. but they Were
| not such nails as the builders of today
| know and use. These nails are long
| and heavy. They were wrought in the
| plantation blacksmith shop. There was
| no place for the pioneer Montgomer-
fan to send one Of his negroes and get
keg.
| skeleton of Former Self.
The old house today is only relic
OF its former glory. the skeleton of
its old self Time has DESTROYED the
old setting and the verandah seen in
the picture supplanted an older and finer
one that gave way to the weather OF
many years. couple of shed rooms
In the rear. feature of other years
| are no longer to be seen.
| In the house itself. the changes
have been few and small. 1t stands as
| 1t stood four score years ago. with
heavy beams and it's hewn planks for
wainscoting. The house proper Is one
and half stories high and contains
six rooms. About it fifty years agu.