Wilson-Finlay House
National Register of Historic Places

Wilson-Finlay House

Gainestown, Clarke County, Alabama
Listed
July 11, 1978
Type
Building
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
78000484

About this property

The Wilson–Finlay House also known as the Joshua Wilson House and the Finlay House, is a historic plantation house in Gainestown, Alabama, United States. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on September 17, 1976. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1978, due to its architectural significance. The house was built circa 1846 for Dr. Joshua Sanford Wilson by Isaac Fuller from Maine. Wilson, born in 1792 in Halifax County, North Carolina, was a physician, planter, and politician. His father, the Reverend Joshua Wilson, settled in Gainestown around 1817. He was a Revolutionary War veteran and Methodist minister. As of 2011, the house is owned by the Louis M. Finlay Jr. family. They also maintain the Gainestown Schoolhouse, another National Register-listed property, on the grounds for use as a guest cottage. The two-story Greek Revival-style house is wood-frame with limestone ashlar foundations and front columns, an unusual feature in Alabama. The limestone, with visible marine fossils present, was quarried locally, at the Gainestown Quarry on the Alabama River. The house is rectangular in form and utilizes a central hall-type plan. A central two-tiered Doric portico fronts the structure. A louvered fanlight is centered in the pediment above the portico.

Location

Gainestown, Clarke County, Alabama
31.45363, -87.69126

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Nearby Historic Sites

Gainestown Schoolhouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Gainestown Methodist Church and Cemetery
Civil War
0.8 mi
Cleveland, Stephen Beech, House
Industrial
10.8 mi
Woodlands
Pre Contact
11.4 mi
Dellet Plantation
Early Republic
11.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Burnt Corn Creek (Creek War)
1813Early Republic
9.1 mi
Fort Sinquefield Massacre (1813)
1813Early Republic
10.8 mi
Fort Mims Massacre
1813Early Republic
10.8 mi
Creek War — Fort Mims Massacre
1813Early Republic
11.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Wilson-Finlay House listed on the National Register?

Wilson-Finlay House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 11, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Wilson-Finlay House?

Wilson-Finlay House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Wilson-Finlay House?

The period of significance for Wilson-Finlay House is recorded as the civil_war era.

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