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Dr. J.A. Gorman House

Alabama Registered Historic Place stubsHouses completed in 1922Houses in DeKalb County, AlabamaHouses on the National Register of Historic Places in AlabamaNational Register of Historic Places in DeKalb County, Alabama
Use mdy dates from August 2023
Dr. J.A. Gorman House Nov 2017 1
Dr. J.A. Gorman House Nov 2017 1

The Dr. J. A. Gorman House (also known as the Hanging Cottage) is a historic residence in Mentone, Alabama. The house was built as a vacation home by Dr. Gorman in 1922. In 1944 Gorman sold the house to local physician W. T. Cantrell, who practiced medicine in the house until 1979. It got its nickname, the "Hanging Cottage", from its position on the brow of Lookout Mountain. Part of the bungalow's foundation is a 22-foot (6.7-m) high rock wall on the brow side. The house takes advantage of its view with 55 windows and a 15-foot (4.5-m) wide porch wrapping around the house. The materials on the house also blend with the surroundings, such as its use of log timbers as porch supports and hand-cut stone chimney. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Dr. J.A. Gorman House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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N 34.577777777778 ° E -85.593611111111 °
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Alabama, United States
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Dr. J.A. Gorman House Nov 2017 1
Dr. J.A. Gorman House Nov 2017 1
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Nearby Places

Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge
Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge

The Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge is a privately owned wood & metal combination style covered bridge that spans the West Fork of the Little River in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It is located on an access road between Shady Grove Dude Ranch and Cloudmont Ski & Golf Resort on Lookout Mountain, which is off County Road 614 near the town of Mentone. Coordinates are 34°32′3.51″N 85°35′56.47″W (34.534308, -85.599019). Originally built circa 1863, the 90-foot (27 m) bridge is a Stringer construction over three spans. Its current WGCB number is 01-25-A, formerly 01-25-02. It was rebuilt in 1980 over an existing cable bridge from the late 19th century. Due to its type of construction, the Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge is currently classified as a non-authentic covered bridge. This bridge has also been called the Tallahatchee Covered Bridge, but these are actually two different structures. A couple of sources contradict time and place of bridge movement if both names applied to the same bridge. According to the current owners as well as most sources, the Old Union Crossing Covered Bridge was moved from Lincoln, Alabama in 1972 to its current location near Mentone. In reference to a document released by the Alabama Historical Commission in the early 1980s which lists all historic covered bridges in the state as well as a September 3, 1975 news article from The Anniston Star, the Tallahatchee Covered Bridge (also known as 'Tallasseehatchee' after the creek it originally spanned) was moved from Wellington, Alabama to Piedmont, Alabama (both in Calhoun County) in early September 1975 for becoming part of a reconstructed pioneer village and Appalachian crafts center. No information about the Tallahatchee Covered Bridge after the move nor of its continued existence is mentioned although it's possible the bridge may still be in private use today.

Battelle, Alabama

Battelle is an unincorporated community in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. Battelle was once a thriving mining community which was spread in a north – south line along the foot of Lookout Mountain five miles north of Valley Head, Alabama. At the beginning of the 20th century, Battelle included hundreds of houses, a school, a commissary, a hotel and post office, in addition to the furnace and coke ovens. Battelle had a water system with water from a spring that was pumped into a large wooden tank and then piped into the surrounding homes. Mining prospectors found pockets of a fairly good grade of iron ore, coal and limestone, all the ingredients for making pig iron. The Lookout Mountain Iron Company was consequently formed by a group of Ohio mining speculators, headed by Colonel John Gordon Battelle. Although he already had large investments in the iron and steel industry in Ohio and the Midwest, Battelle took a great personal interest in the operation to which he gave his name. He moved there and personally supervised the mine activity until it was determined that the mineral deposits were of insufficient quality or quantity to compete with the mines being developed in the Birmingham area. In 1905 the furnace was placed on a standby basis and the houses and other properties gradually liquidated. During World War I, the British government purchased the furnace, which was then dismantled and shipped to Calcutta, India. Although Battelle's financial venture in DeKalb County proved unsuccessful; he did very well with other investments. When he died in 1918 he left $4,000,000 to his only son, Gordon Battelle. The younger Battelle, who died in 1923, willed the fortune to the Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio. After the mining company ceased operations at Battelle and the better homes were sold and moved, there was never much activity in the community. The Belcher Lumber Company of Centerville operated there for a few years in the 1940s. In 1969 when the Alabama Great Southern Railroad train derailed and propane tanks exploded there, news accounts gave the site of the wreck as Battelle.