Tolstoy Park
|
Henry Stuart House | |
|
The house in September 2012 | |
   | |
| Location | 22787 AL 98, Montrose, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 30°33′23″N 87°53′38″W / 30.55639°N 87.89389°WCoordinates: 30°33′23″N 87°53′38″W / 30.55639°N 87.89389°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1926 |
| Architect | Henry Stuart |
| NRHP Reference # | 05000841[1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 27, 2006 |
Tolstoy Park (also known as the Henry Stuart House and the Hermit House) is a historic residence in Montrose, Alabama. The house was built by Henry Stuart, an Englishman who had emigrated to the United States as a child. Stuart was living in Nampa, Idaho, when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to move to a warmer climate to live out his days. In 1923, he purchased 10 acres (4 ha) outside Fairhope, Alabama, which he named Tolstoy Park.
Stuart began building a circular, domed hut in 1925, pouring each concrete block himself. Construction was completed in less than a year, although delayed by a hurricane in September 1926. The house is about 14 feet (4.2 m) in diameter and sunk 2 feet (61 cm) into the ground. Six top-hinged windows circle the building, and there were two skylights in the roof that are now permanently closed. Stuart sought to live a simple life, growing much of his own food and weaving rugs on a loom he brought from Idaho. He kept a guestbook for visitors to sign; notably, lawyer Clarence Darrow visited the hut six times. Stuart left Alabama in 1944, moving to Oregon to live with his son, where he died in 1946.
Today, the hut and a large oak tree are all that remain of Stuart's estate; a parking lot for a real estate office surrounds the hut.[2] A novel based on Stuart's life, The Poet of Tolstoy Park, was published in 2005. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[1]
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tolstoy Park (Montrose, Alabama). |
- 1 2 National Park Service (July 9, 2010). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ↑ Wilson, Shaun. "Stuart, Henry, House" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014. See also: "Accompanying photos" (PDF). Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
