Bluff Hall is a historic residence in

Demopolis Demopolis is the largest city in Marengo County, Alabama, Marengo County, in west-central Alabama. The population was 7,162 at the time of the 2020 United States census, down from 7,483 at the 2010 census. The city lies at the confluence of the ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The original portion of the house is in the

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

with later additions that altered it to the

Greek Revival style The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

. It was documented as part of the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

in 1936, and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1970. It serves as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

, with the interior restored to an 1850s appearance.Marengo County Heritage Book Committee: ''The heritage of Marengo County, Alabama'', page 15. Clanton, Alabama: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2000.

History

The house was built in 1832 by Allen Glover for his daughter, Sarah Serena Glover, and her husband,

Francis Strother Lyon Francis Strother Lyon (February 25, 1800 – December 31, 1882) was a prominent Alabama attorney and politician. He served two terms in the Confederate States Congress during the American Civil War after being an antebellum member of the Unit ...

. The house was built by slaves. The Lyons used Bluff Hall as a townhouse; they also owned several outlying plantations. Bluff Hall was one of several homes built atop a limestone cliff overlooking the

Tombigbee River The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...

, known as White Bluff, on land that Francis Lyon had purchased a few years earlier from the town commissioners of Demopolis. The house was altered in the 1840s with the addition of the two-story front

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and a large rear wing. The new rear wing contained the dining room and kitchen at ground level and two bedrooms on the second floor. This new construction also added the other Greek Revival details. The house remained in the Lyon family until 30 October 1907 when it was sold to A. R. Smith. The Smith family maintained it as a residence into the 1940s, though the upper floors were converted to apartments. The house was sold again in 1948 and continued as apartments. The Marengo County Historical Society purchased the house on 22 March 1967 in order to restore and convert it to a historic house museum.

Description

The house is a two-story brick structure, with portions covered by smooth

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

. The front

features six two-story square columns, constructed in brick with a stucco finish. These columns are very similar to nearby Lyon Hall. The balcony under the portico spans the width of the entrance doors and is supported by

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

brackets. The double parlor in the interior features two columns that were an anniversary gift to the Lyons from the Whitfield family. The Whitfields lived nearby at

Gaineswood Gaineswood is a plantation house in Demopolis, Alabama, United States. It is the grandest plantation house ever built in Marengo County and is one of the most significant remaining examples of Greek Revival architecture in Alabama.Gamble, Rober ...

Gallery

Image:Bluff Hall 01.jpg, The front facade in 2008 Image:Bluff Hall 03.jpg, Entrance hall in 1935 Image:Bluff Hall 04.jpg, Parlor in 1935 Image:Bluff Hall 05.jpg, Dining room in 1935 Image:Bluff Hall 07.jpg, Gate and east elevation in 1935

References

{{NRHP in Marengo County, Alabama National Register of Historic Places in Marengo County, Alabama Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Houses in Demopolis, Alabama Historic house museums in Alabama Museums in Marengo County, Alabama Federal architecture in Alabama Greek Revival houses in Alabama Tourist attractions in Marengo County, Alabama Houses completed in 1832