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Weiss Cottage
Cullman's Oldest House
Description
Weiss Cottage was added to the Alabama
Register of Landmarks and Heritage by the Alabama Historical Commission on January 25,
1977, and the National Register in April 1985.
Typical of early Cullman houses, this cottage was originally located on Lot 440 on Sixth
Street S.E. It was bought from the L & N Railroad on February 24, 1875 by Aldo Weiss.
Not only did he, his wife Magdaline, and their children, Emma, Charles and Clara, live in
this small house, but it also served as his office. He used the cellar to house his goats.
Thus, it was often called "The Goat House."
Dr. Weiss was a "Practical Physician and Accoucheur" (as noted on the
professional card, clipped from a Cullman newspaper of 1877, and displayed along with
medical instruments of the era on the desk). He owned several pieces of property including
a snuff factory and a lot in the City Cemetery.
On December 18, 1889, the house was sold to Judge S.L. Fuller and his wife Evelyn, a
postmistress of early Cullman. The Weiss family moved away.
Weiss Cottage had various owners until 1917 when Charles Ruehl bought it. In 1976, when
the owner, Mrs. Inez Ruehl, needed the site for other purposes, Cullman's "Oldest
House" was given to the City of Cullman with the stipulation that it be moved. The
move spurred a restoration and furnishing with typical 19th Century items for the
Bicentennial Project by the City of Cullman Federated Women's Clubs and the Historical
Society. The Cullman Garden Club Federation contributed the planting of the grounds.
In the restoration the old layers of wallpaper were carefully removed to find the earliest
one, which was matched as carefully as possible. The sills of the house were railroad ties
and the nails used were square ones that can be seen on display. The historic quilt was
made by the various homemakers clubs of Cullman County. |
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