The Curtis House, also known as the Howze-Culpepper House, was built circa 1840 by Samuel Curtis, a Revolutionary War veteran who was born in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland in 1751 and died in Marengo County, Alabama in 1846. The house was built in the Federal style, with the later addition of a Greek Revival influenced portico. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 11, 1977.
The Curtis House is a good example of a town house constructed during the early years of the cotton plantation period in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Samuel Curtis was an early Alabama pioneer. In 1805, he moved from North Carolina to Washington County which was still a part of the Mississippi Territory. By 1819, the year that Alabama was established as a state, he had relocated to Old Spring Hill, approximately 12 miles southeast of Demopolis, and had begun to acquire land. Curtis became a prominent cotton planter who maintained a large plantation. In 1836, he purchased land in Demopolis. The Curtis House was built in the late 1830s or early 1840s and it served as a town residence of Samuel Curtis.
Originally, the house was L-shaped, consisting of two front rooms divided by a central hall which led directly into a room on the left rear. The exterior walls and foundation of the house, which were constructed using locally-made red brick, are 18” thick. Interior walls, with one exception, are also brick and measure 13” inches thick. During the early 20th century, a portico was added to the façade and a wooden two-story structure was added on the right, back side of the house resulting in the present rectangular shape of the home.
The Curtis House is located on Main Avenue in Demopolis at the intersection of Main Avenue and Fulton Street (GPS coordinates 32.521371, -87.838601).
This is a private residence – drive by only.
Sources: 1) NRHP “Curtis House” Nomination Form; 2) wikipedia.org/Curtis_House.