History
Work was begun on Fendall Hall in 1856 by Mr. & Mrs. Edward B. Young. The house was completed four years later in 1860. With its imported Italian marble floor, wide front porch, overhanging eaves, the ornate brackets that support the eaves, the twin columns, the cupola and the railings around the cupola, Fendall Hall is one of the finest examples of Italianate architecture in the United States today.
Edward Young and his brother, William, moved from New York City to Twiggs County, Georgia in the 1820’s. There, the brothers met and married Beall sisters. Edward married Ann and William married Eleanor. Mr. Young, his wife and two sons moved to Eufaula in the mid 1830’s. The brothers first operated a mercantile store for a New York supplier but eventually went into business for themselves. A decision was made to close the store in Georgia, the town was dying because the railroad located elsewhere, so Edward Young decided to relocate to Eufaula, then Irwinton, Alabama because of its location near the river. In 1856 Edward B. Young bought 10 acres of land on “The Hill”, 5 of the 10 acres were set aside to build his family home.
Over the years Mr. Young established a bank and served as President, owned a sawmill, founded an insurance company, became a cotton broker, built the first covered bridge over the Chattahoochee River to Georgetown and was a commission merchant.
In 1860 Fendall Hall was completed and the family moved in. The Young’s lived in the home until their deaths. Mrs. Young died in in 1876 and he followed soon after in 1879. Mr. Young operated his businesses until shortly before his death.
When Fendall Hall was completed Mr. Young had the deed made in his wife’s name. The Young’s daughter Anna Beall Young Dent became the second owner of Fendall Hall. She and her husband, Capt. S. H. Dent purchased the home from her father’s estate in 1880 for $4,000. The Empire style furnishings were divided among Ann and Edward’s 8 children leaving the house almost bare. The Dents redecorated Fendall in the Victorian Eastlake style of the 1880’s which is what you see today.
One of the Dent’s daughters, Louise Dent Hurt, inherited the home from her mother and became the third owner. The house was always known by the last name of the owner in resident. Because the home was owned by women of the family for three generations, this meant that the house changed names each generation: Young House, Young-Dent House, Young-Dent-Hurt House. Mrs. Dent decided the house needed a shorter, less complicated name and named it “Fendall Hall” after her grandmother, Ann Fendall Beall Young.
Mrs. Hurt’s daughters, Mary Maude McCullohs and her two sons, inherited the home from her. The home was purchased by the Eufaula Heritage Association in 1972 and sold to the Alabama Historic Commission in 1973.
Today Fendall Hall retains the basic structure and architecture of the 1860’s. The book, “The model Architect” by Samuel Sloan is generally accepted to have influenced the architectural style, Italianate, of the house. Edward Young and his builder George Whipple, the builder of many of the Italianate structures in Eufaula, would have gone through the book together and planned the details of the house.
Edward Young and his brother, William, moved from New York City to Twiggs County, Georgia in the 1820’s. There, the brothers met and married Beall sisters. Edward married Ann and William married Eleanor. Mr. Young, his wife and two sons moved to Eufaula in the mid 1830’s. The brothers first operated a mercantile store for a New York supplier but eventually went into business for themselves. A decision was made to close the store in Georgia, the town was dying because the railroad located elsewhere, so Edward Young decided to relocate to Eufaula, then Irwinton, Alabama because of its location near the river. In 1856 Edward B. Young bought 10 acres of land on “The Hill”, 5 of the 10 acres were set aside to build his family home.
Over the years Mr. Young established a bank and served as President, owned a sawmill, founded an insurance company, became a cotton broker, built the first covered bridge over the Chattahoochee River to Georgetown and was a commission merchant.
In 1860 Fendall Hall was completed and the family moved in. The Young’s lived in the home until their deaths. Mrs. Young died in in 1876 and he followed soon after in 1879. Mr. Young operated his businesses until shortly before his death.
When Fendall Hall was completed Mr. Young had the deed made in his wife’s name. The Young’s daughter Anna Beall Young Dent became the second owner of Fendall Hall. She and her husband, Capt. S. H. Dent purchased the home from her father’s estate in 1880 for $4,000. The Empire style furnishings were divided among Ann and Edward’s 8 children leaving the house almost bare. The Dents redecorated Fendall in the Victorian Eastlake style of the 1880’s which is what you see today.
One of the Dent’s daughters, Louise Dent Hurt, inherited the home from her mother and became the third owner. The house was always known by the last name of the owner in resident. Because the home was owned by women of the family for three generations, this meant that the house changed names each generation: Young House, Young-Dent House, Young-Dent-Hurt House. Mrs. Dent decided the house needed a shorter, less complicated name and named it “Fendall Hall” after her grandmother, Ann Fendall Beall Young.
Mrs. Hurt’s daughters, Mary Maude McCullohs and her two sons, inherited the home from her. The home was purchased by the Eufaula Heritage Association in 1972 and sold to the Alabama Historic Commission in 1973.
Today Fendall Hall retains the basic structure and architecture of the 1860’s. The book, “The model Architect” by Samuel Sloan is generally accepted to have influenced the architectural style, Italianate, of the house. Edward Young and his builder George Whipple, the builder of many of the Italianate structures in Eufaula, would have gone through the book together and planned the details of the house.