Sadler House, 5262 Eastern Valley Road, McCalla

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AL-1001. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Eastern Valley Road, Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama, The Sadler Plantation house is located on the south side of Eastern Valley Road. The front fa ade faces North. Original land description W , NE ,Section 12, Township 20, Range 5 W NE , NW , Section 12, Township 20, Range 5 W UTM References Zone Easting Northing 16

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AL-1001. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Sadler House, built ca. is a product of vernacular architecture. The home reflects the practical living of century Alabamians. The house meets National Register Criterion C in the area of architecture as a unique example of an I- house with shed rooms. The home reflects the simple and practical lives of the early settlers of Alabama. The home s uniqueness is illustrated in its original constructed form of a single pen log structure, now cocooned within the I-house. Description: The Sadler House sits on Eastern Valley Road, a main local thoroughfare. The original structure (east side) of the home verifies the existence of the original log cabin, cocooned within the weatherboard siding and interior paneling. The log home is constructed of hand hewn, pine timbers.

Today, the existing Sadler House is a two-story, frame, I-house with shed rooms and dogtrot. The roof is finished with wood shingles. The exterior walls are finished with weatherboard siding. The foundation piers are built of fieldstone. One of three remaining chimneys is constructed of fieldstone. The two remaining chimneys are constructed with clay brick. A fourth chimney had been removed. The interior of the house is of simply architectural style reflecting Early American construction methods. Rudimentary decorative moulding reflects Greek Revival vernacular. The interior is clad in tongue-and-groove siding with simple baseboards and crown-moulding. The second floor is divided physically. Accessibility to the west-side of the second floor is only via stairs within the dogtrot.

Accessibility to the east-side of the second floor is only through the stair case within the dining room. Wainscoting can be found throughout the nucleus of the home. The parlor and dining rooms are the most ornate of all the rooms with the home. Entry doors reflect Greek Revival influences while all other doors are of rudimentary construction. Windows vary from to Windows reflect both a Georgian and Adam vernacular. SADLER HOUSE HABS No. AL-1001 (page 2) History: The history of the Sadler Plantation Home dates ca On January 30, John Loveless purchased public land from the U.S. Government. 1 He purchased a small tract of land in West Jefferson County, Alabama, certificate No.

The West half of the Northeast one quarter of Section twelve, in Township twenty of Range five West in the district of lands offered for sale at Tuskaloosa, Alabama, containing eighty acres and thirty-eight and one half hundredths of an acre. 2 Within this tract of land sits the Sadler Plantation Home. There are no records that substantiate whether a home existed on the land at the time of the land purchase. What is known is that there exists within the walls of the existing Sadler Home a nucleus, a log cabin. It is reasonable to believe that the Sadler Home began as a modest single-pen log cabin constructed by John Loveless in preparation for his marriage to Ms.

Martha Daniel the day of July, 3 Isaac Wellington Sadler was born in in North Carolina and moved into the West Jefferson County with his father, William Rose Sadler, in the early William was a builder and civil engineer, and he was credited with building the first saw mill in the area. Is it also believed that William constructed the first courthouse for the city of Elyton (Birmingham). However, evidence to substantiate this was not found. Isaac was noted as a planter and educator: A man who devoted time to his community and church. He is credited as one of the founders of Pleasant Hill Academy. Both Isaac and is father were well-educated men, keeping personal libraries within their homes. December 10, Isaac Wellington Sadler married Martha Prude.

4 There is no known record of their residency at this time. However, following the death of John Loveless, Mr. Loveless wife sold the property for the amount of to Mr. Isaac Wellington Sadler on November 5, Together with all and singular the tenements and appurtenance there unto belonging or in any wise appertaining and the reversion and reversions, remainder and the remainders... 5 The bill of sale identifies the purchase of the property and a structure (tenement), confirming a structure existed prior to Sadler s purchase. It does not indicate the size of 1 Receiver s Day Book, pg. 344 2 Deed Book 3, pg. 3 Marriage Certificate 4 Marriage Certificate 5 Deed Book 3, pg. SADLER HOUSE HABS No. AL-1001 (page 3) home.

It is believed that it was Isaac Sadler who added to the cabin, developing it into the I-house with shed rooms. According to the evidence, it is plausible the original construction date of the Sadler house was between and as a modest log cabin, later becoming an extraordinary example of vernacular architecture: an I-house with shed rooms. The home has undergone only rudimentary enhancements. Ca. an electrician installed a well-concealed, basic electrical system. No running water exists within the house. The home now serves as a house museum under the watchful eye of the West Jefferson Historical Society.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS AL-1001. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Deed Book 3, Page Jefferson County Probate Office, Birmingham. AL. Gamble, Robert. Historic Architectural in Alabama, A Guide to Styles and Types, The University of Alabama Press, Howe, Jeffery. A Digital Archive of American Architecture . Retrieved April 15, from the World Wide Web: Leeke, John. Historic HomeWorks . Retrieved May 1, from the World Wide Web: McAlester, Virginia, and Lee McAlester. A Field Guide to American Houses . New York: Alfred A. Knopf, National Park Service. ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION , Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines. Retrieved April 15, from the World Wide Web: Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. The Gathering Place Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church Birmingham Printing and Publishing, SADLER HOUSE HABS No.

AL-1001 (page 4) Secretary of State Lands Division, U.S. Land Office Tuscaloosa Receiver s Daybook, (SG Tommie, L., compiler, A Journal of History, Vol. 1, Number III. West Jefferson County Historic Society,Inc. April). Walker James H. Roupes Vally, Instant Heirloom Books,