NEWS

David Lazenby
News Editor
Saturday, Nov 07, 2009

Congressman Robert Aderholt wrapped up his tour of Walker County Friday by unwrapping a historical marker honoring one of his own — a United States congressman — who was also one of Jasper’s own.

Aderholt and others who attended his 10th annual Fourth Congressional District Agriculture & Industry Tour concluded Friday’s leg of the expedition at the William Bankhead Home, the one-time residence of the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives who served in the U.S. Congress from 1917 until 1940.

Following a lunch on the lawn of the Bankhead Home, Aderholt and other area officials unveiled a historic marker that signifies the house’s historical significance.

Before the sign was revealed, those in attendance got a “sneak peak” of the house purchased in August 2008 by the Walker Area Community Foundation, which is currently renovating the Colonial Revival-style mansion on the corner of 8th Avenue and 7th Street West in Jasper.

“The Community Foundation wanted to have a place that would be a permanent and lasting presence in the community,” said Paul Kennedy, the executive director of the Walker Area Community Foundation. Kennedy said he envisions a civic space that will “engender some pride and great expectations from our youth.”

“We want to get every school kid in Walker County and Winston  County and Fayette and Marion County to  come through and learn about the history of this area,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy, who said he expects work on the house to be completed by the end of the year, said he also expects the final cost of the improvements to cost about $1 million.

So far, the work has been funded by private donations.

However, a state grant that Kennedy said was secured by State Rep. Ken Guin will pay to  make the 1924 house compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

Kennedy said Foundation officials originally expected the refurbishments to be completed by August. However, Kennedy said the master craftsman on the job, Jimmy Hodges, is “taking his time and doing it right.” 

“He’s doing a phenomenal job on a house that was originally built with exceptional detail,” Kennedy said.

Aderholt said the unveiling of the marker represents “the first step” toward opening the Bankhead Home to the public. 

“I think this is going to be a great facility, not only for Jasper and Walker County, but also for north Alabama,” Aderholt said.

Also on hand to speak during the ceremony was John T. Oliver, the president of the Walker Area Community Foundation.

“We hope this is going to be a first-class facility that everyone in this area will be proud of,” Oliver said.

The marker unveiled Friday reveals history about Bankhead including his political lineage, education and athletic exploits. Bankhead, the son of U.S. Sen. John Hollis Bankhead, and brother of U.S. Sen. John Hollis Bankhead, Jr., was a fullback on the University of Alabama’s first football team. He was also the father of actress Tallulah Bankhead, who was married at the Bankhead Home in 1937.

The historical marker also notes that William Bankhead’s 1940 funeral and burial in Jasper was attended by the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a future president, Harry S. Truman.

The sign joins three other historical state markers in Walker County, signs that commemorate another former congressman, Carl Elliott, Tubbs Cemetery and the county itself.

 

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