2021 April 24, Touring the Antebellum Home of Presbyterian Minister Robert Donnell Athens, Alabama with Tour guide Alice Tiller

Pleasant Hill 

Home of Rev. Robert Donnell (1784-1855) 

Built abt. 1849 by Rev. Robert Donnell, a native of North Carolina, and his second wife, Clara Lindley Donnell. 

He was greatly inspired by the Great Spiritual Revival of 1800 and became a Presbyterian circuit rider, one of the "flaming fires" because of their spiritual intensity. Donnell held the first camp meeting in the settlement that became Huntsville, started new churches in North Alabama and Tennessee, and retired as minister of the Athens Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

The North Alabama Presbytery was named in his honor for his service and dedication. After Rev. Donnell's death in 1855, this house and surrounding acreage passed to his son, James Webb Smith Donnell. J.W.S. Donnell and his family lived here during the Civil War, even though the Union Army wanted him for aiding the Confederacy. 

In 1862, during the sacking of Athens, Federal troops camped on the house grounds, looted, and damaged the house through bankruptcy after the war. 

It served as a boarding school for boys for a time and later as the home of Athens School Superintendent Julian Newman and his family. 

 Local historians and authors Christine W. Edwards and Faye A. Axford initiated a campaign to save and restore the house in the 1970s. Local citizens, businesses, and Donnell's descendants contributed to restoring this historical landmark.

Pleasant Hill Historical Marker

Pleasant Hill Historic Marker

Donnell House

The Donnell House is located at 601 South Clinton Street. 

It hosts events throughout the year, such as a Christmas tree presentation during the holiday season. Because it is located on the campus of Athens Middle School, students have conducted school projects, including interpretive videos centered around the house's history. 

April is the month to showcase the local history in counties in Alabama by featuring walking tours every Saturday. I chose the Robert Donnell House & Museum to tour; it was the only walking tour that I had not attended. 

 *Tour options were: *Beaty Historic District *Downtown Athens Historic District *Athens City Cemetery *Athens State University *Houston Historic District. All the above are excellent tours, and many tour guides dress in the period of the tour. 

 Unfortunately, the Governor George S. Houston Library and Museum were not offered this year. 

 The Donnell House and Museum were hoasting a wedding later that day, and food was being prepared and finger foods placed on the table.

Wedding Buffett

What caught my eye was the Armadillo pink cake. Hanging in the parlor were pictures of Rev Donnell and his two wives. 

Two staircases were leading to the upper level, showcasing the home's history and its occupants. 

 Outside was an 1830s log cabin donated by Don and Ed Horton, sons of Judge James Horton, and nearby was an herb garden. 

 I had often driven past the Donnell House Museum but never noticed it until the tour because it was located in the Athens School system.