Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office
About this property
The William Lowndes Yancey Law Office is located at the corner of Washington and Perry Streets in Montgomery, Alabama. It served as the law offices for one of the South's leading advocates of secession from the United States, William Lowndes Yancey, from 1846 until his death in 1863. He joined with John A. Elmore to form a legal firm after his resignation from Congress on September 1, 1846. Yancey wrote Alabama's Ordinance of Secession after the election of Abraham Lincoln and subsequently served as the Confederacy's Commissioner to England and France. The building was designated historic due to its being the Post Office of the Confederate States of America as shown by the plaque outside the building, not due to Yancey's use as an office. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and also declared a National Historic Landmark on November 7, 1973. The building's interior included the historic floor plan and other decorative details when it was declared a landmark. The late 1970s brought redevelopment of the site and the building was altered, this caused substantial losses to enough of the historic elements that the landmark designation was withdrawn on March 5, 1986. The building remains on the National Register of Historic Places, however. As a lawyer, populist legislator, firebrand orator, and party leader, William Lowndes Yancey was an important figure in sectional politics in the leadup to the Civil War. As one of the leading Southern Fire-Eaters, he gained national influence as an aggressive advocate of Slavery and States' Rights and exacerbated sectional differences that led to the secession of the Southern states from the Union. He had his law office in this building from 1846 until his death in 1863. Through successive modernizations and restorations in the 1970s and 1980s, the building lost much of the historic integrity for which it was originally designated a landmark, leading to the withdrawal of its designation. It was, however, retained on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office
This page lists Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office listed on the National Register?
Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1973.
What type of historic resource is Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office?
Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office?
The period of significance for Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Montgomery County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Montgomery County.
Explore MontgomeryCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Yancey, William Lowndes, Law Office will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.