This beautiful but heavily forested and neglected overlook at the crest of the mountain in Redmont Park needed attention to preserve its beauty and longevity. So neighbors and parkgoers alike called upon landscape architect and long-time Birmingham Historical Society Trustee, Birgit Kibelka, to develop a Master Plan. Watercolors by local artist Adrienne Retief illustrate the goals they commissioned. Read about its history and follow along on their website as they execute their plan!
The highly anticipated annual event for the 2025 Heritage Society Gathering was at the residence built for Herbert Clark and Virginia Stockham in 1924 by Miller & Martin Architects. Atop Red Mountain on Argyle Road, the Tudor-styled home was called ‘Cragmoor’ in reference to the stone cottages and mists of the English Lake Country.
Herbert’s father, William Stockham, purchased the ‘Cragmoor’-lot 24 of Milner Heights-in 1919 and gave it to his oldest son Herbert Clark several years later. Herbert then immediately married Virginia Cannon, and began construction on the home (2930 Argyle Road) where he raised his children, Virginia Lee and Herbert Cannon, for the next 30 years.
A greatly-respected business industrialist, Herbert Clark Stockham proceeded to lead Stockham Pipe founded by his father in 1903 to national and international success. Herbert Clark Stockham died in 1958, and his wife Virginia in 1964, and the home was purchased by Martha & Marion Brodnax.
Improvements to the front entrance, kitchen, porch area, and garage were added in 1984 by new homeowners Virginia & Richard Scruggs, who sold it to Doug Click and Gregg MCormick in 2023, our generous hosts for this event. They recently added a pool/activity area and are landscaping the forested ridge.
In the meantime, Herbert Clark’s father, William, had purchased another 200 acres on Red Mountain’s crest and southern slope in 1922 for $250,000, the city’s largest real estate transaction at the time. William Stockham subdivided 50 acres at the crest for his 10-acre personal residence at 2950 Argyle Road, and set aside lots for his two younger sons, Douglass and Richard. His two younger sons never built on their property and sold it in the mid-1950’s.
Herbert Clark’s son, Herbert Cannon Stockham, married Peggy Roundtree in 1954 and built a home on portions of Lot 24 adjacent to his parent’s home at 2940 Argyle Road This home remained in the Stockham family until 2021. Read the complete history here.
Missed this event but want to join? Thank you for your support!
Want to celebrate Birmingham’s history for Valentine’s Day this year? Take a look at the Redmont Hotel, the oldest hotel in Birmingham still in use. Opened in 1925 on the corner of 5th Avenue North and 21st Street, it was designed by renowned architect G. Lloyd Preacher from Atlanta, Georgia, as an example of the Chicago School of Architecture which was popular at that time.
Named after Birmingham’s iconic Red Mountain, the hotel featured some remarkable amenities for its time, including private baths and ceiling fans in every room—a rarity in the 1920s. The Redmont catered to influential travelers and locals alike including a group of men who frequented the Rainbow Room Lounge and became known as the “Knothole Gang”.
Over the decades, the hotel experienced various ownership changes and periods of decline, reflecting the city’s own economic fluctuations. However, its historical significance was recognized when it received Alabama State Historic Tax Credits in October 2013, alongside $400,000 in tax incentives from the City of Birmingham aimed at revitalizing it. Local contractor Stewart Perry undertook extensive renovations, with assistance from interior designer Natalie Toy, to restore the hotel to its former glory while incorporating modern amenities for the contemporary traveler.
After significant renovations, the Redmont Hotel reopened in 2016 as part of the Hilton Curio Collection, combining its storied past with modern hospitality. Its reopening marked a new chapter for the historical landmark that once again serves both locals and visitors.
The hotel’s importance was underscored by its addition to the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1983. This recognition not only highlights its architectural and historical significance but also reinforces its status as a cherished landmark within the community.
Whether you’re planning a romantic getaway for Valentine’s Day or simply exploring the history of Birmingham, the Redmont Hotel stands as a perfect gateway. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Lots of stories from those who lived or worked on Red Mountain, as well as from scholars who have studied the area’s history, will soon be available on your phone, offering both historical & personal insights. These narratives will bring to life the daily struggles and triumphs of individuals who shaped the community, providing a personal connection to the past. Four key mining sites will be discussed: each site carries its own unique story, revealing the complexities of mining operations, the lives of the miners, and the impact of this industry on the surrounding environment and local culture.
Sites on tour include: Mine No. 13, the Smythe Mining Camp excavation site, Mine No. 10, and the park’s Wenonah entrance on Venice Road.
“Red Mountain Park is hosting “Go Tell It On Red Mountain” – An Oral History Presentation on Sunday, November 17th at 2 PM. The program will feature a panel discussion with the project’s scholars and UAB collaborators facilitated by Laura Anderson from the Alabama Humanities Alliance. Together, they will share stories from Birmingham’s mining era and discuss the project’s development. Afterward, attendees will be encouraged to take a self-guided audio tour on their phones to a few key historical sites.”
Friends of Shades Mountain
are sponsoring a Benefit Concert
at Wild Roast Cafe in Bluff Park,
featuring great live folk, mountain,
and classical guitar music,
as well as original songs
by the President of the Birmingham Music Club
Sunday, September 11th, 6:00PM
The Birmingham Historical Society continues to research the historic importance of Shades Mountain and Shades Creek to our community with recent attention focused on Brock’s Gap, and the publication of Shades Creek–Flowing Through Time. But the Friends of Shades Mountain also want to preserve it for the benefits it provides all of us NOW including:
You can HELP by buying tickets or donating if you can’t attend.
One of the most anticipated Birmingham Historical Society events each year is the annual Heritage Society party. It often features one of Birmingham’s most magnificent historic mansions and this year was no exception, with the Bush-Hill-Cooley residence.
Local architectural firm, Warren, Knight, & Davis, was hired by Morris Bush soon after his marriage in 1920 to design a proper English manor house on top of the mountain on a large lot in a subdivision developed by Jemison & Co. The widely-respected firm designed a Tudor Revival style residence of smooth-face, random-laid Indiana limestone with steep roofs, gables, large chimneys, and surrounded by substantial gardens in keeping with the examples established by King Henry VIII (Henry Tudor) after the reformation.
Morris Bush (age 48) moved his bride Margaret Gage Bush (age 33) to the magnificent residence in 1928. Following subsequent funerals for both of her parents, his mother, and their next door neighbor, finally good news! Their beloved daughter, Gage, was born in 1931, but sadly, the following year, Morris Bush died of a massive heart attack. Margaret couldn’t bear to stay in the house after all that unhappiness and moved in 1934.
James Hill, president of the local Hill Grocery Co., his wife Rena McMurray Hill, with their son Delmar, purchased the estate in 1934 from Margaret Bush and they would live there for the next 30 years, followed by Rena and her sister, for the next decade. The Hill family thrived despite the Depression due to their ’shop local’ philosophy, positioning a neighborhood grocery store within walking distance of many households as well as their support of ‘cash and carry’ (including script issued by local industrial firms).
After Ed Craig, and then Lanny & Brenda Vines lived there, Tammie & Jim Dandy Cooley purchased the estate in 2015. They’ve enjoyed working with architect Hank Long of Henry Sprott Long & Associates to renovate the home and restore the features and plantings of the surrounding gardens.
”Three years on the inside and then three years on the outside” as Tammie Cooley describes the couple’s ongoing love affair with the residence and its gardens. As Jim Dandy adds, ”we see ourselves as the current stewards of this timeless place.”
Much appreciation to the Cooley family for sharing the rich history and their labor of love with the Heritage Society this year!
Build it and they will come! Red Mountain Park is now a 1500 acre park with 15 miles of trails. But back then it was a former mining complex, and a ‘safe place’ that was healing and close to nature for Ishkooda resident Erwin Batain.
Son of a miner, Batain cleared a path from his backyard to one of the 15 mines that originally operated on the property. Overwhelmed with the beauty of the area, he brought his sister, Evanne Gibson, president of Birmingham’s West End Community, and Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson, to see it in the 1990’s along with many friends and family members who he thought would benefit from the meditative and healing power of nature. His enthusiasm for the area earned him the title, “The Prophet of Red Mountain”.
By 2012, it was officially established as one of the largest urban parks in the United States, with access to Birmingham west end communities of not only Iskooda but also Tarpley City, West Goldwire, Garden Highlands, and Mason City.
Jefferson County Commisioner Sheila Tyson dubbed it Birmingham’s west end ‘jewel’. And another of its early advocates was Birmingham Historical Society Trustee and Lawson State Community College history instructor, Gregory Wilson. Due to its rich geological, industrial, and archeological history, Wilson immediately recognized the value of using Red Mountain Park as an immense educational tool.
“[At RMP], I saw the geology, I saw the archaeology, I saw Native American history,” added Wilson, who has used the space to teach his own students by having them tour the space and ask questions of an archaeologist.
“Educators tend not to see [the potential] because it’s … a diamond in the rough,” he added. “They say, ‘If you bring us into a nice, air-conditioned building, that’s OK.’ But there’s a wealth of knowledge, history, and information outdoors.”
The park is FREE and is open from 7AM to 7PM. Download the trail map HERE or get directions HERE
