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| Butler County Courthouse in Greenville, Ala. |
Several years ago, I became somewhat familiar with the City
of Greenville, Ala. while selling newspaper advertising there. On one such trip
to Greenville, I visited the local Chamber of Commerce office and picked up a
brochure that described an historic walking tour of the city’s downtown area.
Ever since, I’ve wanted to take this walking tour, and I
even put it on my “bucket list” a few years ago. On Sunday, armed with a copy of
the tour brochure, my son and I took this historic walking tour, and I
officially crossed it off my “bucket list.”
Over the years, I’ve taken a number of these types of
walking tours in other places, and I thought Greenville’s was especially well
done. Most of the tour sites are along Commerce Street in Greenville with a few
locations to be found a short walk off this main thoroughfare. We started the
tour at Magnolia Cemetery, which is the westernmost point on the tour.
After 15 or 20 minutes there, we drove down to the old
Railroad Depot, parked and walked around the entire building. From there, we
took the short walk to Herbert Street, where we checked out two antebellum
houses, the Herbert House and the Dunklin-Beeland-Frakes House.
The next stop on the tour was the Saint Thomas Episcopal
Church, which was built in 1896. From there, we made our way onto Adams Street
and walked around the First United Methodist Church, which has been located at
112 Adams St. since 1872.
The next stop, Pioneer Cemetery, was one of my favorites on
the tour. Surrounded by an ornate cast iron fence, this old cemetery contains
the graves of some of Butler County’s earliest citizens, including Captain
William Butler for whom Butler County was named. The oldest marked grave here
is that of James Dunklin, who died in 1827.
Next, we walked down South Park Street to see Confederate
Park, which is in front of the First United Methodist Church and was
established in 1897 as “Fountain Park.” The park’s most dominant feature is a tall
monument that was erected in 1903 in honor of the men from Butler County who
died during the Civil War.
The next stop on the tour was Greenville City Hall, which is
across Commerce Street from Confederate Park. A little farther east on Commerce
Street is the First Presbyterian Church, which is Greenville’s oldest brick
church. Across the street, the tour takes you past three more old homes, the
Perry-Wilkerson-Branum House, the Martin House and the Beeland-Stanley House.
From there, we continued east on Commerce and checked out
the Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church, which was completed in 1904. The next stop
was another of the tour’s most impressive buildings, the Butler County
Courthouse, which was built in 1903. The central clock tower is 107 feet tall,
making it the tallest building in Greenville.
From there, we headed back down Commerce Street and walked
west towards the Steiner-Kendrick-Brackin House, which sits on the corner of
Commerce and Pine Streets, across from the First Presbyterian Church. Walking
south on Pine, we then made our way onto Cedar Street and checked out the
Gaston-Hamilton House, a residence that was built in 1895.
The next stop on the tour was the Lane-Kendrick-Sterling
House, which sits at the end of Cedar Street on Fort Dale Street. From there,
we made our way back to Commerce Street for the final stop on the tour, the
Ritz Theatre. Arguably Greenville’s most prominent landmark, this old theatre
was built in 1935 and is now used for community theatrical productions, pageants
and concerts.
If you’re interested in learning more about Greenville’s
history, I highly recommend that you take this walking tour. You’ll not only
become more familiar with the layout of the city, but you’ll also learn a great
deal about the city’s rich history. My son and I took our time on Sunday, and
I’d say it took us a little over an hour to take the complete tour. If you
don’t want to walk it, you can do it a lot faster by car.
In the end, how many of you have ever taken the historic
downtown Greenville walking tour? What did you think about it? Do you know of
any other walking tours like this one in other cities or towns? Let us know in
the comments section below.
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