Community Brick Church (1839)
How many communities can boast 100% participation in their major fund raising event? In 2003, every household and business in historic Mooresville, Ala., was represented in the planning and execution of our biennial festival.
The Mooresville Festival was first held in 1989 to raise money for restoration and preservation of our historic sites. Held in odd–numbered years only, the next tour is set for May 14, 2005. Depending on weather, attendance varies from 3,500 to 7,000. Our adult visitors, many of who have attended more than one festival, appreciate Mooresvile’s charm and are happy to help us preserve our history.
Designed to go back in time to the 1800s, the Tour opens all the public buildings to our visitors, as well as the Church of Christ, and several private homes and gardens. Our exhibitors may sell their wares but they must demonstrate their crafts and trades. This is NOT a “flea market” event yet it is an educational event for families and friends. This is the perfect festival for the historian, gardener, and architectural enthusiast. All of the residents and most of the exhibitors dress in period costumes to add to the return to the 19th Century.
This tour will include:
• Bake Sale
• Discovery Middle School has partnered to help with our tour. They will help us with publicity, children’s games, drama, tours, vendor selection, civic responsibility.
• 19th Century Artisans such as blacksmiths, coopers, tin punchers, candle dippers, story tellers, soap makers, textile crafts, artists, rope makers, wood workers, weavers, and spinners, as well as period musicians and Civil War re-enactors.
• Historic Storytellers
• Drama Productions
• Lecturers on historic subjects
• Expanded Mooresville Market: includes pass–along–plants, books, and gifts
• We will have 3 private homes open for the tour. The Underwood – Price Home; the Woodruff – Pollard – Crumlish Home; and the Zeitler – McLain Home.
• Special Postmark Cancellation
• Open Gardens
• Guided Tours
" All public buildings are open for the Festival
The Mooresville Festival is a day when families and friends can have a memorable, educational, and entertaining day. Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for 6-12 year old children; children under 6 are free. All proceeds will be used for town restoration and preservation projects.
History of Mooresville, Alabama
A town older than the State:
Incorporated November 1818
Mooresville, Alabama, is a rare extant example of a nineteenth century planter’s village. Sited amidst cotton fields and once serving as a port on the nearby Tennessee River, Mooresville was incorporated as a town by the Alabama Territory in 1818, the first municipality incorporated in Alabama. In its time, Mooresville has lived through a good bit of Southern history. Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the US, stayed here while apprenticing to tailor Andrew Sloss. James A. Garfield, 20th President of the US, was stationed here with his Union regiment and preached in the Church of Christ on Market Street. The Trail of Tears passed nearby; the Pony Express stopped here; Mooresville was occupied by Union troops from 1862 through the end of the War Between the States; and in the twentieth century, Mooresville survived the mechanization of the cotton fields and emerged as a remarkably well preserved reminder of days past. Today’s population is around 53 residents and Mooresville is likely the smallest city in the United States with an elected mayor and town council. Bordered now on two sides by the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge, Mooresville, with its old houses and churches, narrow and quiet streets, and filled with large, leafy trees, has attracted outside attention. It was used as the setting for the location filming of the film “Tom and Huck” in 1995. Advertisements have been filmed here for John Deere, Mercedes-Benz, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama,and the Alabama Tourism Bureau. An estimated 20,000 tourists visit the town annually. Some come as part of tours, many arranged by the town or in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and visitor’s bureaus; many more come for a quiet walk or drive through a unique and charming place
Post Office – Stagecoach Inn and Tavern – Community Brick Church
Mooresville’s physical attractions are its buildings and its trees. Three historically significant structures are owned by the town itself and have undergone or are undergoing restoration. The 1839 Post Office was given to the town in 1984. The building was completely restored by 1989 and still operates as a post office. The Stagecoach Inn and Tavern (circa 1820) was donated to the town in 1991 and its restoration was completed in 1999. This building served as the stop for the Pony Express; today it is the meeting place for the town council and other special events. Our most recent restoration project is the 1839 Brick Church. Built with labor and funds donated by Governor Thomas Bibb and his wife Pamela, the church was a meeting place for at least three different denominations, the last being the United Methodist Church, which gave the then-unused building to the town in 1994. Now used as a town social center as well as a site for weddings, the exterior of the church is being restored using funds from the Alabama Historical Commission. An estimated $100,000 is needed to complete the restoration of this building. All told, the town’s residents have raised, through donations, fund-raising events, and grants, over $175,000 for restoration.
Several more interesting structures are privately owned. These include the home where Andrew Johnson is believed to have roomed when he was an apprentice to tailor John Sloss, the 1854 Church of Christ, the restored blacksmith shop, as well as about ten of the original twenty or so antebellum homes.
The town’s annual operating budget is about $10,000. After paying for streetlights, mosquito spraying, and landscape maintenance, little is left for restoration. In 1989, concerned citizens initiated the Mooresville Festival and the Town Council established the Historic Renovation Fund to provide funds specifically for restoring and maintaining historic buildings in the town. The Historic Renovation Fund is a restricted account, and its funds can only be used for the renovation and preservation of the Town’s historic buildings and trees. Money raised by the Festival, as well as any other contributions made for historic renovation and preservation, are deposited into this restricted account.
Homes Open for Tour
Woodruff – Hill – Pollard – Crumlish Home
Built in 1826 in a Federal Architectural Style with the portico and Victorian glass fan light probably being added in the 1890s. The garden is surrounded by hundred year-old Boxwood Gardens with accompanying perennial flowers and shrubs. The home is unique for its still intact out buildings. The Well House, Doctor’s Office, and Smoke House are in excellent condition; according to the Alabama Historic Commission the existence of out buildings is rare and these structures are in incredible shape.
Zeitler – Hill – McLain Home
Construction began in 1927 and completed in 1945. The construction was slowed during the Great Depression and completely halted during World War II, when only goods for military use were produced. The home was designed by Carolyn Cortner Smith, one of Alabama’s first female architects. The home has the charm and accoutrements of a 19th Century home with beautiful heart of pine floors and an impressive open foyer.
Underwood – Price Home
Designed and constructed based upon a 1790’s Salem Reproduction Home. The home displays family antiques in large open spaces. The renovations included installing heart of pine floors and the current owner’s twist on living in a newer home in an established historic town. The home was used in the Disney movie, “Tom and Huck.”
Quick Reference
Date: May 14, 2005 (rain or shine)
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $8 for adult; $5 for children 6–12; and children under 6 free – discounts for bus and tour groups available prior to May 10, 2005.
Where: Mooresville is located one mile east of Interstate 65 on Interstate 565 at Exit 2/ Mooresville Exit. Go south on Mooresville Road for 0.1 mile until you reach Old US Highway 20. You are in the Mooresville City Limits. The heart of the town is located south of of Highway 20.
Mooresville is located 85 miles north of Birmingham, 7 miles east of Decatur, 22 miles west of Huntsville, and 100 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee. In order to view a map of our location please click on this link. MapQuest
What: Nineteenth century crafts and vendors, children's activities, home and garden tours, historic buildings tours, character actors, story telling, music, and food available to purchase.
Contact List
Mayor: Jerry McLain email
Festival Chairman: Shirley McCrary email
Brick Church Rental: Margaret Anne Crumlish email
Privately Guided Tours: tours@mooresvillealabama.com
Books
There are two books about Mooresville and their sale goes to helping fund the restorations. The Guidebook is a historical picture book of Mooresville and sells for $25.00 plus shipping and handling. The Cookbook is a postcard cookbook and sells for $5.00 plus shipping and handling.
If someone wants to purchase one of these books they may contact the mayor@mooresvillealabama.com
Stagecoach Inn and Tavern (ca1820)