East Commerce Street Historic District

The East Commerce Street Historic District has historically been the location for a section of Greenville's commercial area. The early commercial development of the town was located primarily around the site of the Butler County Courthouse the location of which has remained the same since 1822. Four courthouses have been located on the site of the present courthouse building which dates from 1903. At the turn of the century, the 1872 brick courthouse was deemed inadequate to house the offices of the Butler County government. This building was demolished and replaced by the present courthouse with its distinctive clock tower. The present courthouse was designed by Montgomery architect B. B. Smith and was constructed in 1903 at a cost of $60,000.

The earliest buildings that remain in the district date from the 1880s and include the Harris Building located at the corner of Commerce Street and North Hickory Street, built for James Harris and later occupied by the Beeland Brothers Mercantile Company; the Lee Long Building and inventory number 6 on the corner of Commerce Street and North Chestnut Street.

The next major development in the district was the A. G. Stewart Building on the corner of Commerce Street and the courthouse square, constructed around 1906.

During the early 1920s a vacant two-story building along with a storage shed, adjacent to the Wilkinson Warehouse, and facing out on the courthouse square were removed. These buildings were replaced by a one-story brick garage and automobile showroom now occupied by Watson Furniture).

In June 1924 the Pryor Store located in the Lee Long Building was renovated for use by the Alabama Power Company as an office. A new storefront was added and the awnings and porch were torn away as well as the interior was rebuilt. Part of the building was used for a display area, with another section used for storage. Lee Long's office was located in the shop next door to the Power Company office. . The two buildings adjacent to the A. G. Stewart Building, the Thagard Building at the corner of Commerce Street and North Chestnut, and the Whiddon Building immediately adjacent to the Stewart Building and the Beeland Warehouse were all constructed to replace the buildings of the same names that were destroyed by a disastrous fire during the summer of 1927. These buildings were completed in January 1928.

The other major development during the 1920s was the construction of the Beeland Brothers Mercantile Company Building in 1924. Beeland Brothers Mercantile Company had been established in September 1883 with W. J. Beeland as President, R. A. Beeland, Treasurer, and L. J. Beeland as secretary. Prior to the construction of its new building the company was located immediately across Hickory Street in the Harris Building. The new building was constructed facing Commerce Street, North Hickory, and the rear towards Cedar Street. The building was designed by Okel and Cooper Architects of Montgomery and was constructed by the Hugger Brothers of Montgomery. The building was heavily damaged when near completion by a fire on September 20, 1924, but double work shifts had replaced the damage by November 1924. The original facade was cherry red brick, faced with a white cornice and highly polished wooden window June 1928 a large addition was constructed to the rear of the building and increased its total floor space to 24,150 feet.

James T. Beeland and Company moved from the west Commerce section into the vacant Harris building on November 15, 1924.
The last major construction project in the district was the Greenville National Guard Armory. The armory was constructed in 1936 on a lot donated by Butler County. The building was a typical single-unit armory constructed throughout the state for motorized units during the period. The brick Works Progress Administration building cost $28,464 of which the Federal Government furnished $24,995. The armory was constructed for Battery "A" of the 117th Field Artillery Regiment of the Alabama National Guard. The building remains basically unchanged with the exception of a larger wooden portico added to the front.