THE FIRST WHITE HOUSES PART I

First White House of the Confederacy

The White House of the Confederacy was the executive residence of President Jefferson Davis and family while the capital of the Confederate States of America was in Montgomery, Alabama.

Completely furnished with original period pieces from the 1850s and 1860s, the 1835 Italianate-style house is open to the public.

It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974 and the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage since 2012

Layout

The White House of the Confederacy was a large two story wooden frame house painted white and green in Montgomery, Alabama. It had five bays across its frontal facade and four on either side. The main section of the house had a one-story wing extending from its rear, upon which two end-exterior chimneys were positioned.

It was built on a foundation of brick piers and had a heavy bracketed cornice encircling the hipped roof. The cornice was unique in that it had a ventilation system ornamented with a Liberty cap design. A similar cornice could be found upon the rear one-story wing but with a flower design instead of the Liberty Cap one. The exterior walls are weather-boarded. The house had a portico in the center of its facade supported by fluted columns and a balustrade. In the portico area, the wall was built with wooden planks built to simulate a stone texture.

The central entrance was framed with two pilasters with side lights. A transom built with an architrave was placed above the door. The central stairhall had access to a double parlor, two bedrooms, and a back hallway. The parlors had simple wooden doorways and were connected by sliding doors. The bedrooms were designed in a similar fashion.

The hallway ended in an archway that was built with Greek revival doorways and an elaborate cornice design surrounding the roof of the doorway. The back hall which intersected with the main hallway had access to a side porch. The side porch was connected to the dining room through a hinged window that doubled as a door. The second floor had four bedrooms and what was most likely a nursery. Wiki.

Alabama State Capitol

The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. It is located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.