Harris Farms
The History of Nestled in the heart of Huntsville, Alabama, the Harris family has woven a tapestry of history that spans generations. At the center of this intricate web is J.B. Harris, a proud descendant with roots deeply embedded in the local community dating back to the early 20th century.
The storied history of Harris Farms begins in 1918 when Joseph B. Harris purchased 1000 acres along the Tennessee River. This choice acreage, located in the center of Pond Beat, a name gained from the number of tiny ponds formed by floods when the river was high, included some of the best farming soil in the county. Over the next 20 plus years, the growing Harris family would call this property home until 1941 when the Harris’ were forced leave Pond Beat behind. Pond Beat would no longer be Pond Beat. It would soon become what we now call Redstone Arsenal.
Fall of 1941. The Harris family said farewell to property before moving to 901 Bob Wade Lane.
The Army began road construction on the properties before residents moved out. The front yard shows construction disturbance and stakes
With the purchase of the 1000 acres in Pond Beat also came a variety of structures, including a large home listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
In 1818 James Cooper built a two-room dwelling on the property. Cooper passed away in 1834 leaving the small humble abode to his only remaining family, his wife Charity. Charity remarried a close friend and neighbor, Col. Houston H. Lee in 1940 and the two quickly began planning the expansion of the house left by her first husband. In 1941, Col. Lee would add 4 large rooms in 2 story sections, 20x20 foot square rooms with ceilings that were 14 feet high. Also to note, a winding stairway built of walnut and a porch built of cedar. Although the house didn’t have much of a social scene while inhabited by the Lee’s, it became to social center of Pond Beat after the civil war, hosting dances and celebrations of all kinds. It became known as the “Lee House” sometimes referred to as the “Lee Mansion” until 1918 when its newest inhabitants moved in, J.B. Harris, his wife Martha and their children. It would then be referred to as the “Lee/Harris House.”
Corrine Harris standing on the stairs at the home of her grandfather J.B. Harris the night of her high school prom.
J.B. and Martha Harris had six daughters and one son, Sam Harris, Sr. In 1927, Sam Harris, Sr. combined two existing structures to form a bungalow-type house. Architectural historians confirmed part of the house was built by hand-hewn logs dating back prior to the civil war. The house is now referred to as “The Harris House” as Sam Harris, Sr. would eventually raise his family in the house. With two fireplaces, Sam Harris, Jr. recalls having to bring in firewood in the winter as the house had no electricity, no heat, and water was piped from the well at the Lee/Harris house to a tank on a wooden platform and flowed in through gravity. The Harris House still stands today and is the one and only historic property that remains in its original location on the Arsenal.
J.B. Harris has been described as being a witty man that took pride in helping people do better. Originally from Chattanooga, he lived in the Lee/Harris House until 1936 and passed away in 1938. By this time, Sam Sr. was the owner of the farm. Records show that there were 10 or so other homes on the property occupied by tenant farmers. Of the 1000 acres, Sam Sr. used about 600 for cotton, corn and other crops. Land and mules were provided to the tenants by the Harris Family. They covered half the cost of seeds and fertilizer in return for half the crop when it was harvested.
Sam, Sr., known as the “Cantaloupe King” of Madison County had 10 or 15 acres of land designated to cantaloupes that were transported and sold daily to the public. Also on the property was a blacksmith shop and a steam driven mill used to cut lumber, one of the only sawmills in the Southeast.
The Harris Farm lost a significant number of acres in 1935 due to a forced sale to the TVA. The Army bought the remaining 1000 acres for $75/acre shortly after. The Harris family took the small amount of compensation from the Army. Given little to no choice, the Harris Family pressed on without any allowance for the difficulty of moving equipment, livestock, or any hardship associated with moving their home and large farming operation. Additionally, a seller’s market created by the Army transactions, caused the price of farmland in the county to go up as high as 20 percent. Unfortunately, those who were left no choice but to vacate the Arsenal were forced to pay the inflated prices and buy new farms.
All the Meanwhile…
In April of 1817, a man from Virginia name David Wade purchased his first piece of land at the young age of 33. This land consisted of 640 acres just west of Merdianville Pike Road in Madison County. Those first 640 acres would soon become the heart of his plantation. Accompanied by his wife, Eliza Grantland, he built a simple log cabin for his growing family. The couple raised 6 children in Alabama and over the next few decades, the cabin evolved into an extraordinary mansion known as The David Wade House.
The David Wade House
Built sometime during the antebellum period, The David Wade House was a massive structure o f solid brick, two tall stories above a raised basement. The giant wooden entablature was basically a false front that obscured the parallel gables behind and terminated the enormous portico o f six rough Doric columns, set on simple, ground-level bases.
Photo taken by Alex Bush for HABS, 1935
Linda Bayer Allen,The Historic Huntsville Quarterly September 22, 2006
The Smokehouse
The smokehouse, the only original structure still standing today, is the last remnant of Davis Wade’s outstanding homestead. Built to preserve meat, the two story building is constructed of handmade bricks on the exterior and original plaster on the interior. The lower level was built with exceptionally higher ceilings than the upper level to allow the smoke from the large fire pit to cure the large cuts of meat that once hung from the rafters. Although it is now used as a bunk house for young children, the smokehouse now is undergoing extensive renovations to cement its everlasting legacy through the next generation and beyond.
Over the next 127 years, David Wade’s 640 acres expanded. Although ownership of the property switched hands a variety of times, it primarily remained in the Wade family until the death of Robert B. Wade in 1940. Just one year after his death, the trustees of the Wade estate sold the property to Samuel Harris, Sr. and his wife Jennie May. The David Wade House was eventually torn down in 1952 and a four-bedroom house was constructed in its place. In 1954, Samuel Harris, Sr. deeded the western portion of the farm, which includes the smokehouse, to Sam Harris, Jr. who then erected a new brick residence on the property. This would become the new Harris farm and primary residence of the Harris Family for generations to come.