Christmas at Arlington House
Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 7:00PM Arlington House is located on six acres in Old Elyton, the first County Seat of Jefferson County in Alabama. Judge William S. Mudd built this Greek Revival home between 1845 and 1850.
Judge Mudd was one of the ten original founders of Birmingham in 1871, and the new city grew up around Elyton. Arlington is among the few antebellum-era homes to survive the American Civil War in the 1860s. It was occupied by Union troops toward the end of the war, and no one knows why the home was not burned when the troops left, which was the fate of most other estate homes. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970.
Every year various decorators and clubs decorate the historic home for Christmas, and I looked forward to my visit this year.
Fresh greenery is used in wreaths and swags throughout the home.
The Munger Parlor.
Charles S. Munger became owner of the property in 1902, and he was responsible for many renovations, including the addition of plumbing and electric lights.
The DeBardeleban Dining Room
The Mudd Sitting Room
The Master Bedroom
"Grandmother's" Room - I am not sure if the elegant lady in the portrait would appreciate the theme from Red Riding Hood!
The Pine Room - This room was decorated by the Morning Glories Garden Club, a federated garden club for Jefferson County and surrounding areas.
The Children's Room
The following three images are of the kitchen, located in a separate building behind the house. The walk between the kitchen and the house was called the "Whistler's Walk," supposedly because the servants had to whistle while bringing meals to the main house. Since they could not chew and whistle at the same time, this prevented them from sneaking bites of the food!
You may also enjoy my previous posts : Holiday Decorating Ideas, Part I and Holiday Decorating Ideas, Part II, about a much more modern but beautifully decorated home.
Best wishes to you all! Deb
Reader Comments (9)
Dear Deb, what a lovely, grand, historic home Arlington House is, inside and out! It is certainly lavishly decorated it for Christmas and I like that as far as I can see they used all natural materials. It must have been such a joy for you to tour it. Thanks for sharing it with us here on your blog!
Warm regards,
Christina
It's so fun to see historical properties decorated authentically, and especially during the holidays. What a wonderful resource for the state of Alabama, and the U.S.! Our history is so rich, if we only take the time to explore it.
I was going to say that I wished I had a crew of people to come in and decorate my house for Christmas but actually I'd prefer a crew that came in and cleaned up and put everything away - decorating is the fun part but I dread the clean up. I loved the wolf in grandma's nightclothes!
Our history is so rich, so much the story of the best of us and the worst of us...The Christmas decorations are really wonderful.
I can see people had fun decorating, and it somehow makes the house seems lived in, with a family.
Oh Deb! What an absolutely gorgeous house. I just love historic homes and this was such a treat with all that beautiful greenery decorating it. I really loved the kitchen with the beautiful brickwork. Thank you so much for taking us on a tour of it. It was wonderful!
- Kate
I live in Birmingham and have visited Arlington House several times. Your photos of the house are beautiful. I see things in them that I have missed with my own viewing. Thanks for showing me just how beautiful Arlington house is. I am afraid that I have not appreciated it as I should.
How fun! I love seeing historical places like this, especially decorated so beautifully! Thank you for the tour!
So sad many homes from the Civil War era were burnt down....so glad this one was spared and what a joy to decorate it...thanks for sharing it....Merry Christmas Deb!