Jenkins House

The story

Behind the sketch.

Built in 1889, the Jenkins House is one of Old Town's most elaborate Queen Anne residences. Its asymmetrical form, complex roofline, corner tower, patterned shingles, and broad wraparound porch provide the variety expected of the style. The name is established by the property's historic sign, although surviving published records that I found have yet to reveal which Jenkins built or first occupied the house. The house remains a contributing property within the Old Town Historic District, and one of the neighborhood's strongest examples of Huntsville's late-nineteenth-century enthusiasm for expressive Victorian design. The house later became associated with Arveline "Arvie" Pierce, whose brother, Jacob Emory Pierce, founded the Huntsville Daily Times in 1910. Arvie served as the newspaper's society editor and headed its accounting department, making her part of the family operation behind one of Huntsville's most influential newspapers. Old Town developed largely between 1880 and 1929, as Huntsville's growing merchant and professional class built homes within walking distance of downtown businesses, railroads, and industry. The Jenkins House arrived near the beginning of that expansion, and embraced nearly every opportunity the Queen Anne style offered for irregularity and ornament.

Neighborhood

Old Town

Book location

Page 80