The Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building, also known by a variety of other names throughout its history, is a historic

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

building in Selma,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, United States. Completed in 1847, it has served many functions in the more than 160 years of its existence. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on June 20, 1975, due to its architectural and historical significance. It currently houses the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum, a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

depicting Selma's history.

History

The building was completed by the Selma Fraternal Lodge No. 27 of the

Free and Accepted Masons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in 1847. The organization had it built at a cost of $15,000 to serve as a school for

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

s and the children of

indigent Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

Masons. It first opened its doors in October 1848 as the Central Masonic Institute. The school was not a success, and within a few years the mortgage on the property was lost by the Masons. The structure was next used as a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

hospital during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It survived the

Battle of Selma The Battle of Selma was fought on April 2, 1865 in Dallas County, Alabama during the American Civil War. It was part of the Union campaign through Alabama and Georgia, known as Wilson's Raid, in the final full month of the Civil War. Brevet ...

near the end of the war and served as a Freedman's Bureau Hospital for a short time following it. It was then purchased by local civic leaders in an effort to lure the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

from Cahaba to Selma. The effort was successful, with Selma becoming the seat of government for the county in 1866. The building served as the Dallas County Courthouse until 1902, when a new courthouse was built at the corner of Alabama Avenue and Lauderdale Street. The trustees of the Henry W. Vaughan estate purchased the building for $5,025 in 1904 and leased the former courthouse to a new school, the Selma Military Institute. The military school used the building until 1908, when it moved to what is now the administration building at the United Methodist Children's Home on North Broad Street. The trustees then converted the space into a new hospital, Vaughan Memorial Hospital, in 1911. The hospital occupied the building until 1960, when a new hospital building was completed on West Dallas Avenue. The building sat vacant and neglected until 1969, when the City of Selma, Dallas County, and the Selma Housing Authority purchased it for $82,500. This was done under the leadership of Joseph T. Smitherman, the mayor of Selma at the time. The facility reopened as the Historic and Civic Building on May 16, 1971. It was renamed in honor of Smitherman by the Selma City Council in 1979, for his role in preserving and restoring the building.

Architecture

The three-story red brick structure is built in the Greek Revival-style that was popular at the time of its construction. It is most notable for its centrally placed tetrastyle portico, utilizing monumental Ionic columns. The exposed

brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...

of the seven

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

facade utilizes the stretcher bond, with a

belt course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

between each floor. The

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed portico covers the three central bays, with

balconies A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

at each upper level stretching the width and depth of the covered area. The

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

balcony railings utilize a design with an open diamond pattern, also known as a crowfoot

baluster A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

Vaughan-Smitherman Museum

The building is now home to the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. The first floor contains the museum's Civil War collection and documents relating to

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The second is dedicated to a political collection. The third floor is set up as a hospital, as it may have appeared while in use as Vaughan Memorial Hospital. Additionally, the museum has mid-19th century antique furniture, a collection of

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

artifacts, meeting rooms for clubs and civic groups, and parlors for social events.

References

External links

Vaughan-Smitherman Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smitherman, Joseph T., Historic Building National Register of Historic Places in Dallas County, Alabama Masonic buildings in Alabama Masonic buildings completed in 1847 Greek Revival architecture in Alabama Buildings and structures in Selma, Alabama Museums in Dallas County, Alabama History museums in Alabama Defunct hospitals in Alabama Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Government buildings completed in 1847 1847 establishments in Alabama

History

Architecture

Vaughan-Smitherman Museum

See also

References

External links