Rather-Rice-Gilchrist House, Bluff City Road vicinity, Somerville, Morgan County, AL

Significance: Notable for unusually fine brickwork and as one of the oldest extant brick structures in Alabama. / ca. 1820. Attributed to John T. Rather, early Somerville lawyer and original owner of house. Brick on ashlar foundation, Flemish bond, granite sills and lintels. Rectangular (five-bay front) with two-room ell, one-and-a-half stories, gable roof with dormers, three exterior end chimneys. Unusual molded brick cornice. Modified two-room plan with double entrance, paneled wainscoting with Federal-style mantelpieces. Extensively renovated 1927, including removal of original dormers and addition of brick and concrete porch. Ruinous (1978).
Survey number: HABS AL-864