Fort Dale-College Street Historic District

The earliest known development in the Fort Dale-College Street district area began during the 1850s. A large amount of the land was originally owned by William A. T. Dunkli who had a claim of the land which during the 1820s was owned by the Federal Government. Dunklin moved to Cahawba and allowed William Burnette to take over the claim. Burnette paid the Government $2 dollars per acre and received a grant on the land. The original grant was issued for acreage that was located on both sides of what 1s now Fort Dale Street and extended from the Parmer Elementary School to the present Greenville Country Club site. Burnette sold sections of the land and gave other sections to family members. One section that he gave was to his son-in-law James Law Dunklin and daughter who built a house on their land in 1857. Other houses that were built in the area during this period included the Otts-Nicholson-Lee House; the Dr. Job Thigpen-Porter House both on College Street and the W. M. Wimberly House on Fort Dale Street. The Otts-Nicholson-Lee House was the residence of a Greenville Mayor, Samuel B. Otts who served as Mayor after the town was incorporated as a city in 1871 and W. J. Nicholson who served as a member of the State Legislature in 1911 and as Butler County Tax Assessor for several terms during the early 20th century.

The Dr. Job Thigpen-Porter House was constructed around 1862 for Dr. Job Thigpen who served as a physician in Greenville from the late 1850s until his death in 1894. The W. M. Wimberly House was built by W. M. Wimberly who operated a general merchandise establishment during the mid and late 19th century.

Following the Civil War, development continued within the district as the Joel Flanagan Thames House was constructed in 1865 on land that had been given to him by his father-in-law, James Law Dunklin. The Thames had moved to Greenville from Mobile immediately following the War and later served two terms during the late 1870s as Mayor of Greenville. The Teague-Gamble House was constructed around 1866 by William Martin Teague, who had moved to Greenville and opened a mercantile business and in 1883 disposed of that business and moved to Montgomery. The house was also the residence of Judge A. E. Gamble who was influential in Butler County politics during the early 20th century.

In 1875 Dr. Job Thigpen constructed a small building on what was to later be named College Street for his two brothers, J. Mack Thigpen and George A. Thigpen, to house their private school. The school originally housed a grade school but later the curriculum included high school and college courses and led to the naming of the street that fronted it. The building was later converted to a residence after the school moved to larger quarters.

During the early years of the 20th century, the area around College Street was the location for a large number of the more exclusive houses in Greenville although there were also a number of smaller houses built within the district during the same period. In 1901 Major Claude E. Hamilton constructed his large residence on the corner of College Street and Hamilton Street. Hamilton removed most of his childhood home from the site (with the exception of the room in which he was born) to make way for his new house. The room was moved to the rear of the house for use as an outbuilding.

Other houses that reflect the development of College Street during the early 20th century include the Winkler-Hopper House, the Upton-Willis House, and the Elisha Poole House.

Development in the district during the late teens and the 1920s indicates a withdrawal from the larger houses built during the first decade of the 20th century. The best examples of this trend include the Black-Mixon-Salter House, a bungalow constructed in 1918 on Fort Dale Street, and the Dr. Eving Cater House also on Fort Dale Street. An exception to this trend is the large Tudor-style Robert Burnett House which was constructed on College Street in 1928.

By 1930 the expansion in the district had slowed with the major development being the Broughton Wilkinson House and the Calvin Poole House both on College Street and the renovation of the Howard Cheatom House. This house was converted into a residence in 1938 from the carriage house and stable that served the Judge Julius C. Richardson estate.

Although not on the grand scale of some of the houses located on College Street a house that is unique architecturally is the J. E. Jerkins House at 107 North College Street. This small Spanish-style house was constructed in late 1928 and is the only house found in the district that displays the style.