Wright-Kilgore House
808 Walnut St., Greenville, ALThe Wright-Kilgore House (1850) is significant as a good local example of a vernacular, single-story, Greek Revival cottage distinguished by its rectangular form, hipped roof, and inset front porch. Of particular note is the Wright-Kilgore House's complete entablature along the roofline which encircles the entire original portion of the house. Houses of this type in Alabama date between 1840 and 1870 and are predominately found in the east, central, and Gulf Coast regions.
The Wright-Kilgore House is significant for its association with Robert R. Wright who served in the Alabama House of Representatives during the session of 1855.
The Wright-Kilgore House (c1850) is a single-story, five-bay, frame, vernacular house with some Greek Revival detailing situated on a corner lot. The house has a low-hipped roof with a recessed front porch across the entire width of the facade. The porch roof is supported by square brick piers which are replacements for the original wooden columns. Rounded wooden pilasters against the back wall of the porch suggest that the original porch columns may also have been round. The double-leaf central entry is surrounded by a simple transom and sidelights. There is a small addition at the back of the house which was probably built in the 20th century. A small shed-roofed back porch is located at the angle formed by the main block and the rear addition.
Historical Summary
The Wright-Harrell-Johnson-Kilgore House is believed to have been built during the 1850s for Robert Wright who was a Butler County planter and served as a member of the Alabama Legislature during 1855. The house originally had wooden columns and shutters but were later removed and the columns were replaced with square brick piers. Robert Wright sold the house to Louis Harrell, who later served as Mayor of Greenville, and he in turn sold the house to a local farmer, James Johnson Johnson sold the house in 1893 to B. F. Kilgore. The house remained in the Kilgore family's possession for over sixty years, the last being Bennie Baisden who lived in the house his entire life. Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
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.