Henry County (Complete)

[Guidedawg]

1.   Kennedy House – 300 Kirkland St.   Abbeville
2.   Oates House – 302 Kirkland St.   Abbeville
3.   Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Depot – Headland (Has been disassembled. No part remains)

[Guidedawg]

1.   Kennedy House – 300 Kirkland St.   Abbeville

The Kennedy House (also known as the Bethune-Kennedy House) is a historic residence in Abbeville, Alabama. The house was built around 1870 by William Calvin Bethune, a local physician. The house changed hands several times before being acquired by William and Mollie Kennedy in 1885. The Kennedys, who were Henry County farmers, used it as a town house. It remained in the family until 1974, when it was purchased by the local Board of Education. The house was later owned by the Abbeville Chamber of Commerce.

The house was built in Creole cottage style, common along the Gulf coast, but more rare inland. The side gable roof has exterior chimneys in each end, and also covers a full-width front porch. A tall frieze is supported by four Doric columns, with matching pilasters on the corners of the house. Twin six-panel entry doors open into separate rooms, each of which contains an original fireplace mantel. The northern room has an enclosed stair hall leading to the finished attic space. The rear originally had a porch and breezeway connected to a kitchen, however this was removed in the early 1900s and replaced with an addition containing bedrooms. This addition was removed in the 1970s by the Board of Education.

The house was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

   This rare, dual front door, double pen Creole cottage was constructed c. 1840 and is the oldest remaining structure in Abbeville.

[Guidedawg]

2.   Oates House – 302 Kirkland St.   Abbeville

The Oates House (also known as the Shoemaker House) is a historic home in Abbeville, Alabama. The house was originally built in 1900 by local farmer Ephraim Oates, cousin of Alabama Governor William C. Oates. In 1910, he greatly expanded the house, adding a second story and remodeling it in a Neoclassical style. The house was purchased in 1927 by the Shoemaker family, who added floor-to-ceiling casement windows to the front rooms.

The main façade is dominated by four Tuscan columns supporting a triangular pediment, creating a full-height entry portico. The main entrance has a transom and sidelights, and is flanked by floor-to-ceiling casement windows with a balcony above. End windows on the first floor and the four second floor windows are two-over-two double hung sash windows. The north side of the house features a porte-cochère supported by two Tuscan columns, with a balcony above. A shed-roofed sleeping porch adorns the south side, and on the rear is a one-story kitchen addition and screened porch. The interior features a central hall with rooms on either side on both floors.

[Guidedawg]

3.   Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Depot – Headland (Has been disassembled. No part remains)

The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Depot was a train station in Headland, Alabama. The depot was built in 1893 by the Abbeville Southern Railway, which built a line to connect Abbeville with the Alabama Midland Railway at Grimes. The Alabama Midland and Abbeville Southern became part of the Plant System in 1894, which was taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1901 and merged into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967. Regular passenger service through Headland ended in 1929, although mixed service on freight trains continued through the mid-1950s. Freight service was discontinued in 1979. Despite efforts to renovate and repurpose the building, it was demolished after 1980.

The depot was built of local pine and oak, and covered with a gable roof with deep, bracketed eaves. The western third of the building was divided into two passenger waiting rooms and the agent's office, while the eastern two-thirds was a large freight storage area. A loading platform ran the length of the building along the tracks.

The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.