James Lewis Price, a native of Richmond, Virginia, began construction on this Greek Revival house in 1836, completing it in 1840. Price and his wife, Louisa Adele Shearer, raised four daughters here. Maria Overton Price, their eldest daughter, married Alexander Caldwell Davidson in 1860, and he purchased Westwood from his father-in-law as a wedding gift for his bride.
Westwood was built for entertaining in the elegant plantation manner and, at its zenith, it was noted for the magnificence of its receptions. It has been referred to as “the Mecca of Canebrake Society.” Louis Davidson was quoted in Carl Carmer’s Stars Fell on Alabama as saying, “There are only two places in the world where one may live a happy civilized existence – Paris and Uniontown.”
The foundation is composed of 12”x12” hand-hewn timbers joined together with wooden pegs and square nails. Built of heart pine, the house has four central reception rooms, the hall and parlor in the front and the library and dining room in the rear. On either side of that square and set back from the main façade is a bedroom wing, each with its own porch and his and her dressing rooms. Interior walls and ceilings are finished with plaster and formal rooms are decorated with elaborate crown moldings and medallions. A cantilevered staircase with no visible means of support graces the entrance hall, while a unique rear spiral staircase allows private access to the five bedrooms of the second floor. The four corners of the roof are topped by square turrets, which may have served to collect rainwater for domestic use. Westwood is still occupied by descendants of the builder.
Westwood is located beside Highway 61 on the north side of Uniontown (Google Maps).
This is a private residence – drive by only.
Source: Adele Ellis Beasley Long and Mary Leila Schaffer (descendants of James Lewis Price)