Downtown historic location recognized by the National Park Service

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Huntsville’s own Harrison Brothers Hardware Store and the Historic Huntsville Museum have been designated by the National Park Service as part of the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. 

The brick building in which the historic store resides was constructed by father-son architectural team Henderson and Daniel Brandon. After Emancipation, Henderson, who had been born into slavery, used his skills as a brick mason to create the most successful black-owned business in Madison County in its day. Their firm built many of the buildings of early 20th-century Huntsville, and recent investigation has shown that they built sites in Decatur and Madison as well. 

The economic independence that this business brought to both the Brandons and other African-American families in Huntsville helped make the Brandon family leaders of the Black community in Madison County. Daniel Brandon was twice elected as a Huntsville City Alderman, before the Alabama Constitution of 1901 disenfranchised Black voters across the state. Daniel Brandon would be the last Black individual elected to Huntsville public office until 1988. 

The Historic Huntsville Museum, a space within the store that is dedicated to showcasing the history of Huntsville, shone a light on the Reconstruction roots of the store with its exhibit “Brick by Brick: The Legacy of Henderson and Daniel Brandon.” 

Historians both local and national were onsite at Harrison Brothers Hardware, to commemorate the occasion. 

“We have been recognized nationally, and that is a big, big deal,” said Mac McCutcheon, Director of the Madison County Commission. 

“Sometimes, people think that there’s not much of importance that went on in their town,” Nathan Betcher, the Supervisory Historian for the Reconstruction Era National Network, said. “But every single town has people who have contributed to our story, the story of America. Even as we celebrate them, we also celebrate those who work so hard to bring that history to light in our modern times.”

The Executive Director of the Historic Huntsville Foundation, Donna Castellano, was honored for her dedication and tireless effort in showcasing Huntsville history for the public. 

“For many of us in Huntsville, this is personal history, family history passed down in family Bibles,” said Castellano. “But this period, Reconstruction, where millions of people were freed to make their own way, to choose their own fates, to reap the rewards of their own labor, is sometimes called ‘The Second American Revolution.’” 

“This exhibition is about connecting the dots of those stories, all across the United States,” she added.

One of those dots connected is the First Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, where it was recently uncovered that the church was one of the buildings constructed by Henderson Brandon & Son. The Senior Pastor of the church was invited to conclude the ceremony. 

“In a time dedicated to tearing down them and everyone who looked like them, the Brandons left a legacy as builders. May we all leave a legacy of building each other up, instead of tearing down,” said First Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Dylan Woodall.

For more information, please visit www.historichuntsville.org.