Building’s name changes over time
Published 10:49 pm Monday, November 15, 2010
Since it was built in 1856, Sturdivant Hall has had many different names. Through the years, the structure has become one of the most well-known buildings in Selma. -- Chris Wasson photo
Sturdivant Hall, also known as the Watts-Parkman-Gillman Home, carries its name from several different Selma families.
The home’s most current name is taken from the estate of Robert Daniel Sturdivant, who donated $50,000 to purchase the house with the provision that it be turned into a museum in 1957.
The home is currently maintained by the Sturdivant Museum Association.
Colonel Edward T. Watts originally began construction on the house in 1852. The house, which was completed in 1856, was designed by Thomas Helm Lee.
Watts and his family moved to Texas in 1864 and it was purchased by John McGee Parkman, a local banker.
Following the end of the American Civil War, Parkman was made president of the First National Bank of Selma. The bank engaged in cotton speculation and accumulated huge losses. The military governor of Alabama, Wager Swayne, had his Reconstruction authorities take possession of the bank and arrest Parkman. He was imprisoned at the former Castle Morgan in Cahaba. Assisted by his friends, Parkman attempted to escape from the prison on May 23, 1867, but was killed.
The house was sold at auction for $12,500 in January 1870 to Emile Gillman, a prominent Selma mewrchant. The Gillman family owned the house until 1957, when it was sold to the city of Selma for $75,000.
– Rick Couch, news editor
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