The character of a Southern town’s heritage is captured in the historic district of Courtland, Alabama. Just a short jaunt off a major highway, Courtland offers a trip through the history of a nineteenth century town. Reflecting the town’s beginning as a local trade center rooted in the surrounding plantation economy are more than 100 homes, buildings, and sites dating from circa 1820 to circa 1938.

Courtland was named to the National Register of Historic Places for its 1818 development of the early town plan built with an unusually large concentration of significant buildings. Built on a site that was formerly an Indian Village on Big Nance Creek, Courtland’s location was chosen by planters from Virginia and the Carolinas who saw great potential in the fertile cotton land combined with market access to New Orleans by way of the Tennessee River. Even in the initial design, the developers of Courtland planned for their town’s future and included a main square for the county courthouse had Courtland become the county seat.

Based on these early roots, Courtland is one of the few places in Alabama where one can visit and experience architectural styles spanning nearly 175 years of history. Federal period architecture of the first 60 years of Courtland’s development reflects the town’s early ties to the influence and traditions of Virginia and the upper South. The late 1800 and early 1900 homes reflect Victorian, Colonial Revival, and bungalow styles ranging from large multi-story homes with wide sweeping verandas to cottage style dwellings.