Urquhart House, Historic residence in Huntsville, United States.
Urquhart House is a residential structure in Huntsville featuring two connected sections with a breezeway between them and loft rooms above each part. The building displays Federal-period design details, including decorative chair rails and mantels that were added as part of later renovations to the original log construction.
Allen Urquhart acquired the property in 1813 and built the house soon after, starting with a one-room log pen with a 7-foot ceiling. Around 1835 the ceiling was raised to 9 feet 2 inches and Federal-period details were added; the second floor and western pen may date from then. A rear addition with a Greek Revival mantle followed in the 1860s or 1870s, and a kitchen and enclosed rear porch came around 1915–1930.
The name is pronounced "Er-Kit", after Allen Urquhart, who acquired the property in 1813. The dogtrot breezeway between the two pens was an open-air passage used for chores and shade, with loft rooms above both pens. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992 and placed on the Alabama Historical Commission's Places In Peril list for 2013.
The house stands in Huntsville and is not open for interior tours; the building is nearing collapse after years of neglect and was placed on the Alabama Historical Commission's Places In Peril list for 2013. View it only from the street and keep a safe distance from the structure. The rear ell, with its enclosed porch, and the mid-20th-century front porch can be picked out from outside.
The eastern pen began as a one-room log house with a 7-foot ceiling; around 1835 the ceiling was raised to 9 feet 2 inches and beaded chair rails, baseboards and lath-and-plaster walls were added. The western pen lost most of its original detailing in the early 20th century, so its construction date remains uncertain.
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