The Bell House (also known as Biggs House) is a historic house located at 550 Upper Kingston Road in

Prattville, Alabama Prattville is a city located within both Autauga and Elmore counties in the State of Alabama, United States, but serves as the county seat of Autauga County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,781. Nicknamed "The Fount ...

, United States. It is locally significant as an excellent example of the Queen Anne style of architecture, that reached its zenith in Alabama at the turn of the 20th century and continued locally as late as 1920.

Description and history

The Queen Anne style -story wood-frame house was completed in 1893. It is designed by Alabama architect Frank Lockwood. It 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 July 17, 1997, and on the

Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH), commonly referred to as the Alabama Register, is an official listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts deemed worthy of preservation in the U.S. state of Alabama. These pr ...

on October 7, 1998. Joseph Bennett Bell, son of Jonathan Ezekiel and Georgiana (Bennett) Bell, was born in

Greenville, Alabama Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,374. Greenville is known as the Camellia City, wherein originated the movement to change t ...

on November 18, 1859. He was raised in Greenville and moved to Montgomery upon the completion of his education and obtained a job as a clerk at a hardware store. Bell married Mary Pratt, daughter of Julia (Smith) and Merrill Pratt on November 17, 1889. Merrill was the nephew of Prattville town founder Daniel Pratt and was named heir of half his fortune upon his death in 1873. Bell moved to Prattville in early 1890 and served as a manager for the order department of the Daniel Pratt Gin Company as well as a

stockholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the l ...

and manager for the Pratt Company. The Bell House was constructed in 1893. Bell was listed as a secretary for the Prattville

Mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

Company in 1905, and served as a member for the

State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

representing Autauga County from 1911 to 1915. In April 1919, Bell was appointed

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

of the county, of which he served until October of the same year. Joseph and Mary raised their eight children until Joseph died in 1937; Mary followed him in 1945. That same year, the Bells daughters Katherine and Adelaide (whom the former had returned from service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) lived in the house until they sold it to Thomas H. Walker in October 1949. In 1970, the house was sold to Colonel Ernest and Martha Biggs by Nancy and Hyman Hamner, the former of which are the recorded owners as of 1998. In 1994, the house was used as a filming location for

Charles Matthau Charles Marcus Matthau (born December 10, 1962) is an American director, producer, actor and writer. He is the son of actor Walter Matthau and actress/author Carol Grace. Matthau gained recognition for his directorial work encapsulating humanity ...

’s 1995 film The Grass Harp, based on

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

’s novella of the same name.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Queen Anne architecture in Alabama Houses completed in 1893 National Register of Historic Places in Autauga County, Alabama Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Houses in Autauga County, Alabama

Description and history

See also

References