Jake Davis, Fall, 2024
The Beirne Home, also known as the Bibb-Bradley-Beirne Home, was originally built around 1836. It was built for the second governor of the state of Alabama, Thomas Bibb. The house is a beautiful example of the first Greek revival architecture used in the South. Inside of the Twickenham district, the house has remained largely unchanged over the many years, aside from the new trees that are in place in the front yard. The surrounding area, however, has changed quite a bit. According to The Huntsville Quarterly, the historic district of Twickenham was zoned as a historical district in March of 1972 after the city council passed an ordinance that gave legal status to the district. This was not without opposition from those who opposed this regulation.
The house has quite a strange history of owners. Originally commissioned and built by the second governor of Alabama, Thomas Bibb, who was the president of the state senate, but after the first governor of the state was injured in a horse riding accident, Thomas was placed as the governor as the state's constitution says should be the case. Bibb was the governor of the state until 1821 which is when the plot of land that the house sits on was purchased. In 1836, the house was transferred to the husband of Bibb’s daughter, James Bradley. Unfortunately, soon after his acquisition of the house, the financial crisis of 1837 tremendously impacted the Bibb family as well as James Bradley, which led them to sell the residence to Andrew Beirne of Virginia. His descendants lived in this house for seven decades. Interestingly enough, though this house was deep inside of Confederate territory, during the Civil War, the house was occupied by Union general O.M. Mitchell and his staff. After the Civil War, the house was willed to Howard Thomas by Jane Beirne, his aunt. Thomas sold the house to W. B. Butler, who then sold the house to the Newman family, who are descendants of the original owner, Thomas Bibb.
With this information in mind, we can assume that during the creation of this postcard circa 1912, Jane Beirne, who owned the Beirne home, would soon willed the house away after her death in 1917. Currently, the house is owned by the Bentleys, a very wealthy and influential family in Huntsville. The family has kept the house relatively similar to how it originally looked, aside from the modern appliances and lighting. The Bentley family decorates the house every year for Christmas, making sure to keep the house festive and full of Christmas spirit.
The exterior of the house has not changed much, aside from the change in the greenery around the front yard, as seen in the picture. However, some changes have been made to the interior. As seen in the pictures below, the mantle in the house library has been kept in pristine condition. The only visible differences between the two library photos are the change in pillows on the couch and the mantle being cleaned off in the current photos. Other than the main library the angular staircase in the back of the house has remained the same, and even as far as the banister and the lamp on the wardrobe have remained the same or look the same.
The Bentleys, the owners of the Bibb-Bradley-Beirne Home, have taken very obvious precautions to ensure that the house stays as similar to the original historical site as possible, ensuring that this piece of Huntsville history is not lost.
Bibliography
Hutchens, Eleanor Newman (1984) "Dating the Bibb House: Lore, Theory, Fact," The Historic Huntsville Quarterly: Vol. 11: No. 2, Article 3. https://louis.uah.edu/historic-huntsville-quarterly/vol11/iss2/3
The Beirne Home, Erected in 1837. S. H. Kress & Co., 1912 circa. https://jstor.org/stable/community.34688311.
Castellano, Donna (2003) "Part One: Twickenham: A Brief History of the Twickenham Historic District," The Historic Huntsville Quarterly: Vol. 29: No. 1, Article 3. https://louis.uah.edu/historic-huntsville-quarterly/vol29/iss1/3
Gharib, Jim. “Home for the Holidays - Event Magazine.” EVENT Magazine - Covering events in Huntsville, Alabama, November 1, 2023. https://eventhuntsville.com/features/home-for-the-holidays-3/.
Swope, Caroline. “Bibb-Bradley-Beirne House.” SAH ARCHIPEDIA, September 24, 2019.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the UAH Honors College, Mr. Grimsley, and the UAH archives department. I would also like to thank my roommate and close peer, Josh Martinez, for his aid in my research and for accompanying me to the site to take the picture. I would also like to thank my parents for their constant support and dedication.
