Jane Barr Monte Sano Historical Collection

Collection Items

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  Topographical map of Monte Sano.

  This map was drawn by William W. Varnedoe, Jr. and published by the Monte Sano Civic Association. It shows Monte Sano's neighborhoods, the state park, and the mountain's natural features, including springs and caves. The map also notes changes in elevation.
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  Photo of the cast of a production of Snow White at the Monte Sano community pool.

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  Monte Sano Boy Scout troop on a camping trip.

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  "The Valley of Huntsville."

  The view shows Athens Pike (now Holmes Avenue) in Huntsville, Alabama, with Monte Sano Mountain in the background.
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  "Lilly Lake -- Monte Sano."

  This photo shows a scene at Lily Lake on the grounds of Col. James O'Shaughnessy's home on Monte Sano. According to the Historic Huntsville Quarterly, the structure in the foreground of the photo is a "four-tiered vertical framework covered with ivy, and reaching an impressive height of twelve feet or so."
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  "Hotel Monte Sano."

  The hotel opened on June 1, 1887 as a luxury health resort. It was built by the North Alabama Improvement Company with funding from Michael and James O'Shaughnessy. The hotel closed in 1900 and was demolished in 1944.
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  "The head of Big Spring Huntsville Ala."

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  A horse and buggy team fording a body of water near Huntsville, Alabama.

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  "Natural Wells. 350 ft drop in solid rock -- Monte Sano."

  The well is a large limestone cave shaft located near the site of the Hotel Monte Sano.
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  "Entrance to O'Shaughnessy Place -- Monte Sano."

  The O'Shaughnessy Place, nicknamed "Castle Delight," was built in 1885 by Col. James and Lucy O'Shaughnessy. It was a two-story Queen Anne-style house with four chimneys, gas lights, water lines, and indoor plumbing. Col. O'Shaughnessy was a cotton and real estate broker, seaport and railroad developer, and co-owner of the Huntsville Hotel, Huntsville Opera House, Hotel Monte Sano, and the Monte Sano Railway and Turnpike. The house burned in March 1890 and was demolished in the 1920s.

• Local History Collections
  • Jane Barr Monte Sano Historical Collection