This beautiful antebellum home was built in 1851 for Judge David W. Sterrett, lawyer, planter, and trustee of the Wilcox Female Institute. The house is an excellent example of architectural eclecticism, blending elements of both the Greek Revival and Italianate styles.
The structure features a two-story front porch supported by four tall decorative lattice-style wooden posts. Intricate cutout woodwork decorates the porch railings, while an unusual decorative feature along the roofline gives the house a distinctive appearance. An upstairs balcony extends across the front of the home and is enclosed by matching decorative railings. The interior of the home also has several impressive features. Inside the foyer of the home, there are twin spiral cantilevered stairways. Beyond the foyer, there are double parlors that are adorned with intricate decorative plasterwork.
In 1870, the home was sold to Richard Ervin McWilliams and wife Amelia Lindsay Coate. More than a century and a half later, this historic residence remains in the care of McWilliams family descendants.
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 (Google Maps)
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: 3) Alabama Black Belt Heritage Audio Tour, site 519.
B&W photographs courtesy U. S. Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: E. W. Russell, date: June 16, 1936