Inspired by the works of architect Samuel Sloan, this outstanding example of antebellum eclecticism was built in 1851 for Judge David W. Sterrett, lawyer, planter, and trustee of the Wilcox Female Institute. The veranda features four tall trellis-type supports, scroll-cut balustrades, and an unusual parapet. Red glass sidelights surround the front door. Other outstanding features include the spiral cantilevered stairways in the foyer, heavy decorative plasterwork in the symmetrical parlors, original gasoliers, and jib doors. In 1870, the home was sold to Richard Ervin McWilliams and wife Amelia Lindsay Coate. This home has been in the McWilliams family for seven generations.
This home was photographed and documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in 1936. The house was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage (ARLH) on April 14, 1992. It is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Clifton Street and Sterrett Street in Camden, AL (GPS coordinates 31.992642, -87.298640)
This is a private residence – drive by only.
Sources: 1) 2007 Spring Pilgrimage Wilcox County, Alabama Brochure (Wilcox Historical Society); 2) The Alabama Catalog, A Guide to the Early Architecture of the State, by Robert Gamble.
B&W photographs courtesy U. S. Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: E. W. Russell, date: June 16, 1936