The new headquarters of the Cullman County Historical Society and a renovated downtown commercial building are among the homes to be featured in the society’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes on Sunday, December 5.
The historic Hays House (pictured above) at 611 First Ave. SW will be open from 2 until 5 p.m. for tours and to sell tickets to the tour. The Historical Society dedicated the former home of Dr. Luther Hays as its new headquarters in November. Dr. Hays began practicing medicine in Cullman in 1901. The home he built with his wife Ethel features a wrap-around porch typical of Southern houses. In addition to his family’s quarters, the house also held his medical office.
The offices of Lee Powell Cotton States, (pictured right) will also be open for the tour. Lee and Ginger Powell bought the two story commercial building two years ago, with plans to make it office space for his insurance business and a loft home upstairs for their young family. The building has housed several businesses in recent years but is best known as the Nehi Building. The local Royal Crown bottling company mixed its fizzy concoctions on the second floor and bottled and sold them on the first floor.
The home of Jay and Alice Page, is on the Alabama Historic Commission’s Register of Landmarks and Historic Buildings. It is a Jacobean Revival style house and its beautiful and original architectural features have been preserved. The home was built by Dwight and Gladys Fuller. Bertha Cooper, a longtime employee of Leeth Bank, lived in the house for many years. It was featured in the Dot Graf book, "If Walls Could Talk."
The Hartung-Bonham home, was built in 1930 by Dr. Phillip Hartung, the grand-nephew of Col. Johann Gottfried Cullmann, our town’s founder. It remained in the possession of his descendants until this century. The Dutch Colonial style home is now owned by Becky Bonham. When the house was built, it was part of Cullman’s medical district. A small hospital was located nearby. Many of the nearby homes were doctors’ homes and offices. A front room of the house likely was an office for Dr. Hartung and is now a studio for Bonham.
The home of Charlotte and the late William Meredith, was also built in the 1930s by Charles Edward Young. Mr. Young also built the house next door and lived there with his mother. He built the Meredith house as a three-unit apartment building. When Suzanne and Neil Freeman (Cullman’s former superintendent of education) bought the houses from the Young estate, they totally renovated both as single-family homes.
Tickets for the tour will be sold at the Hays House, as well as at each home on the tour. They cost $10. Proceeds from the sale of tickets are used by the Cullman County Historical Society for its projects in the community, including the new murals of historic scenes on downtown buildings. The Historic Society is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization.
Our online store is up and running. Purchase a mouse-pad, T-shirt, coffee cup and lots more at our Mercantile Exchange. We get a buck off each sale, so it helps us continue our mission to preserve history and educate the next generation about what makes Cullman great. Check out hour selection here: www.cafepress.com/cullmancountyhistoricalsociety 
The exterior wall of the building housing the "Cullman in the 1880s" mural, which houses the offices of the Hames Law Firm has been restored after damage caused by the April 27, 2011 tornado. The artist who painted the mural, Jack Tupper, has said he will repaint the portion of the mural that was destroyed. (Click on photos to enlarge.)
A photo of the old German Farmers Market is the latest mural in the series of murals across Cullman. It is located on the building next to the Festhalle Market Platz at the corner of First Avenue SE and Arnold Street. Find it on our Mural Map.
Ray Heitmueller, right, talks about his family as Dr. Bill Peinhardt, historical society vice president, holds up a picture of Heitmueller's farm, above, and ancestors, below.
Ray Heitmueller shared a little of how his family came to Cullman and some show-and-tell items at the April meeting of the Cullman County Historical Society.
Henry Heitmueller's scratcher
Fourth Street and Second Avenue SW
On the north side of Village Furniture. 228 Third Ave. SE
Leo Schwaiger, left, listens as Dr. Bill Peinhardt, historical society vice president, discusses the base of the Col. Cullmann statue, built by Schwaiger and his brother.
Brother Joseph Zoettl had already died when one of his creations at St. Bernard Abbey's Ave Maria Grotto was damaged by a falling tree. So stonemason Leo Schwaiger, who had previously been observed by Zoettle building the monastery's church, was called in to do the repair work.
ted the Schwaiger locknut (pictured, left). Ford was interested in it, too, but Schwaiger told him no thanks, patenting it himself and selling it straight to auto parts suppliers.
The new headquarters of the Cullman County Historical Society and a renovated downtown commercial building are among the homes to be featured in the society’s annual Christmas Tour of Homes on Sunday, December 5.
The offices of Lee Powell Cotton States, (pictured right) will also be open for the tour. Lee and Ginger Powell bought the two story commercial building two years ago, with plans to make it office space for his insurance business and a loft home upstairs for their young family. The building has housed several businesses in recent years but is best known as the Nehi Building. The local Royal Crown bottling company mixed its fizzy concoctions on the second floor and bottled and sold them on the first floor.
est in the state's "2010: Year of Small Town and Downtown" program. The society's past president and current executive board member Dot Gudger, who got the mural project started, and Mayor Max Townsend, who lent support, also spoke.
Jack Tupper and Bethany Kerr, front, and Dot Gudger, back
Ninety-nine-year-old Agnes Alvis shares stories of her life with the Cullman County Historical Society during the group's October meeting. When told she'd have to come back next year to celebrate her 100th birthday, Mrs. Alvis quipped, "Don't count on it!"
Agnes Alvis, foreground, reflects on a question as her friend since 1936, Gladys Bailey, listens in the background.
Gladys Bailey, 96, tells of growing up, marrying and raising a family in Cullman County. 
Donald Walker poses with his mural of the 1st Leeth Bank (1906).
Currently under way are murals of the U.S.S. Cullman by Jack Tupper and the Leeth building by Donald Walker. Follow the ship on the building next to Carlton's Italian Restaurant on Third Avenue North between Second and Third streets. The Leeth mural is at Second Avenue (U.S. 31) and Fourth Street South on the side of Baker Photography.
