James Duncan residence
The James Duncan residence is a small house constructed in 1905 or 1906 at 705 Huntsville Avenue in Tarrant by railroad worker James Duncan for himself, his wife and eight children.
The wood-framed house has a hipped roof with a wide gable over the front porch and smaller gable flanking a shed-roofed rear porch. Inside a central hallway gives access to six rooms, each lit by a large double-hung window.
The Duncan family remained in the home until 1926. Later owners include J. Thurston and Zona Choates.
The Alabama By-Products Company donated the house to the Birmingham Historical Society in 1985. It was moved to on open area adjoining Sloss Furnaces to serve as a headquarters office for the Society and as an interpretive site, serving as an example of a type of house that would have been inhabited by furnace supervisors residing in Sloss Quarters.
Society volunteers have worked to repair and maintain the house, and added a "Grandmother's Garden" behind it, planted with heirloom vegetables and flowers.
A major renovation project, including new roofing, air conditioning and storm windows, was undertaken in 2013 with funds from the Goodrich Foundation. T. C. Roll & Son performed much of the work that could not be completed with volunteer labor.
References
- "House finds home at Sloss" (September 1985) Magic City News, Vol. 2, No. 12
- "Improvements at the Duncan House" (October 2013) Newsletter, Birmingham Historical Society, p. 2
External links
- Duncan House at the Historical Marker Database