Montgomery-Janes-Whittaker House
a.k.a. Buena Vista
S of Prattville off AL 14, Prattville, ALThe Montgomery-Janes-Whittaker Home is Federal in design. It is significant in the cultural development of the Central Alabama Region as one of the very earliest examples of the elegant plantation homes which incorporated European fashions and materials into an essentially pioneer pattern of life and resulted in the indigenous "Deep Southern" architecture. The most interesting features of the structure are the delicately Grafted fanlights over the front entrances and in the gable ends.
William Montgomery, who built the home about 1822, was a close friend of Alabama's first great industrialist, Daniel Pratt and, according to the family story, of General Andrew Jackson, both of whom visited in the home. It is said Jackson so highly regarded the staircase that he had it copied for the Hermitage in Nashville. A comparison of the two staircases shows them to be almost identical and the Hermitage staircase was constructed in 1834, twelve years after the Montgomery house was built; the staircase in the Dr. Edgar Pope home in Prattville is also very similar.
According to the family history by Mrs. Annie Mae Montgomery Martin, many materials for the house were prepared in Birmingham, England and shipped to Washington Landing on the Alabama River, where they were transferred to wagons and drawn by six mule teams to the site. Hardware bears a Birmingham hallmark. The craftsmen that executed the elaborate plaster cornice mouldings and ceiling medallions reportedly came from England to complete the on-site construction and finishings.
"Buena Vista" as the home was called by the Montgomerys, remained in their possession until 1910 when it was purchased by Mary Emma Scott Stewarl:, who held title to the house until 1932 when the Federal Land Bank foreclosed a mortgage. The Stewarts added the present portico and a balcony as well as three gables. In 1936 the home was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Whittaker. Over a period of years the latter owners removed the
gables added by the Stewarts. The house has been restored and furnished with appropriate period pieces. Jack Whittaker is the present owner.
Bibliography
Martin, Annie Mae M. "History of the Montgomery Family" (Unpublished manuscript, 1940)
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.