Maria Howard Weeden, author of Shadows on the Wall

300 Gates Avenue, SE
Huntsville, Alabama 35801
(205) 536-7718

March-December Tuesday-Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $3; children under 12, $1

This home is the birthplace of Alabama poet and artist Maria Howard Weeden. Built in 1819, 27 years before Weeden's birth, this elegant home sits on the western edge of the Twickenham Historic District. It is the only home in the District that is open to the public.

The leaded-glass fanlight above the front door is a dazzling feature noted by many tourists. The striking hand-crafted window is not uncommon to nineteenth-century homes of this grandeur. Inside is a graceful spiral staircase, hand-carved Federal mantels, and ornate woodwork. Walls and mantels are painted in authentic, early nineteenth-century colors. Some of the furnishings on display belonged to the Weeden family.

Union troops captured this beautiful home to use as a headquarters during the Civil War, forcing Weeden and her family to take refuge in south Alabama. After the war the Weedens returned to their home to find it and the community devastated by Union troops. Weeden began teaching art classes in her home and writing stories and poems for the Presbyterian paper, the Christian Observer, to supplement the family's income and to rebuild the lifestyle the war had destroyed. In the museum are four published volumes of her poetry, each containing her own illustrations. Many of Weeden's paintings are on display in the home, including portraits of her neighbors and friends.

Maria Howard Weeden (1847-1905)

"A born artist," Maria Howard Weeden resorted to writing her own verse when she could not find the words that suited her artistry. Living in the precarious time prior to the Civil War, Weeden drew pictures of local African-Americans-people she simply called friends. Many of her poems reflected the relationship between whites and African-Americans during the later 1800s.

Born in 1846, six months after her father's death, Weeden showed at an early age an unusual aptitude for painting. Records indicate that she took art lessons from a local portrait painter before age ten. As an attentive and talented student, she practiced often. Flowers and people became her specialty.

During the Civil War, the Union army found Weeden's house, because of its size and location, to be ideally suited for its Huntsville headquarters. With the house taken over by the soldiers, the Weedens were forced to move to Tuskegee, where one of Howard's older sisters lived. After the war, the Weedens were free to return to their home, but found it in need of repair and their budget severely depleted. At age 18, Weeden began supporting her family's income by teaching art classes and making greeting cards and gift books.

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