DEBUTS OCTOBer 2025
Revel in the star power of Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Billie Jean King, and Ronald Reagan when the Historic Huntsville Foundation’s (HHF) American Signature Quilt makes a triumphant return to the courthouse square in October 2025.
A 1989 plan to secure the future of Harrison Brothers led to the creation of two priceless pieces of Americana. HHF volunteers Lynn Jones and Dale Rhoades combined their talents and tapped into the good will of noted Americans to support a good cause. Presidents, Academy Award winning film stars, noted scientists, Pulitzer-prize winning writers and award-winning athletes contributed their original signatures to be stitched into the Ohio Star patterned American Signature Quilt.
Both quilts benefitted the greater Huntsville community. HHF raffled one quilt, raising $20,000 to pay off the debt from the purchase of Harrison Brothers. HHF kept the other quilt, displaying it in the Huntsville Madison County Public Library (HMCPL) for the public’s enjoyment. Due to a lack of space, the HMCPL returned the quilt to HHF in 2023.
Guided by the example of Lynn and Dale, HHF immediately developed a plan for the quilt’s future. A partnership with the University of Alabama-Huntsville Archives, Special Collection and Digital Collections ensured the quilt’s preservation.
Now it’s time to share the quilt with the community. In consultation with UAH, we developed a plan to safely display the quilt. It’s been 35 years since the quilt last visited Harrison Brothers, the place that inspired its creation. This year, join us on Thursday, October 9 for a Homecoming Celebration for the American Signature Quilt in Harrison Brothers Hardware. The party will continue until Saturday, October 25.
Past exhibitions
When Huntsville was a small town with big city dreams, a group of influential and wealthy capitalists formed the North Alabama Improvement Company (NAIC) in 1886 to transform North Alabama into a major manufacturing hub. Led by New York financiers Michael and James O’Shaughnessy, these… <learn more>
When Lou Bertha and Shelby Johnson sued the City of Huntsville in 1946 over a zoning dispute, they showed that it was possible for a Black business owner to fight City Hall in the Jim Crow South . . .and win… <learn more>
We are pleased to present the “Harrison Brothers: House and Home – From Traditional to Modern” exhibition, which highlights the furnishing and household goods sold by the Harrisons from 1900-1960. Using original sample books and furniture catalogs, this exhibition shows the evolution of Huntsville from the Watercress Capital of the World to the Rocket... <learn more>
Our “Brick by Brick: The Legacy of Henderson and Daniel Brandon” exhibition celebrates the history of Henderson and Daniel Brandon, founders of Huntsville’s most successful Black-owned business in the Reconstruction era. Our exhibition brings long overdue recognition to a masonry firm who constructed some of Huntsville’s most iconic buildings.
Here, we share the history of Henderson and Daniel Brandon, a family who made the transition from enslaved to free following the abolition of slavery in 1865. This history is personal for the Foundation, as we learned recently that Daniel Brandon’s masonry firm rebuilt the Harrison Brothers building following a massive fire in 1901.
We are honored that the National Park Service selected “Brick by Brick” for inclusion in the Reconstruction Era National History Network, a program that highlights the history of freed men and women following the abolition of slavery.
ABOUT THE HISTORIC HUNTSVILLE MUSEUM
Our Historic Huntsville Museum in Harrison Brothers Hardware is Huntsville-Madison County’s first museum dedicated to sharing Huntsville-Madison County history from the perspectives of both Black and white residents.
“Brick by Brick” is the featured exhibition in the newly debuted Historic Huntsville Museum, a project of the Historic Huntsville Foundation. This FREE exhibition is located in Harrison Brothers Hardware. Along with being Alabama’s oldest operating hardware store, a top tourist designation, and home of the Harrison Brothers Gallery, our nonprofit gift shop specializing in local and regional art, the Harrison Brothers building is the best preserved example of Daniel Brandon’s work.
HOURS & LOCATION
The Historic Huntsville Museum is FREE and open to the public from 10AM to 5 PM, Monday through Saturday, in Harrison Brothers Hardware, a project of the Historic Huntsville Foundation. Harrison Brother is located at 124 Southside Square on Huntsville’s historic courthouse square, where we’ve been since 1897.
If you would like to schedule a tour of the exhibition for your school, civic, or community group, please contact our Executive Director Donna Castellano at Donna@historichuntsville.org.
Text content