McDowell House

The story

Behind the sketch.

The McDowell House, built around 1850 for cotton merchant William McDowell, is often called the Backward House. According to local legend, McDowell left an overseer in charge while he traveled to Europe, only to return and discover that the house had been built facing the wrong direction. It is a wonderful story, although no one seems able to prove that it happened. The house's Civil War history is better documented. Union General Ormsby Mitchel is believed to have occupied it after taking Huntsville in 1862. During the second occupation, General John A. Logan used it as his headquarters. An 1864 Harper's Weekly illustration shows the house with a large United States flag flying above it. Henry B. Chase purchased the property in 1925. The founder of Chase Nursery, former Huntsville mayor, and first president of the Huntsville Historical Society, Chase renovated the house and surrounded it with extensive gardens.

Neighborhood

Twickenham

Book location

Page 54