Mountain Brook Estates

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The "Old Mill" is a landmark in Mountain Brook Estates

Mountain Brook Estates is a 400-acre residential subdivision between Montavallo Road and Shades Creek in Mountain Brook. It was developed by the Jemison Company beginning in 1926. The development included the repaving of Cahaba Road, and the planning and construction of Mountain Brook Parkway with its landmark "Old Mill", originally envisioned as a club house and tea room for residents.

In addition to the original 92 estate-sized lots and the clubhouse, the developers created bridle trails, tennis courts and other amenities for residents. The natural features of the landscape were studied and enhanced by the development. Utilities such as electrical power, municipal water, and telephone service were supplied to each lot. Deed restrictions stipulated minimum costs for homes and prevented the subdivision of lots.

The development was designed by landscape architect William Kessler and engineer John Glander with input from Robert Jemison Jr and Boston-based consultant Warren Manning. The development was marketed as "an exclusive estate section for country homes, where cultured persons can preserve those fine traditions of aristocratic country life which the Old South knew in ante bellum days."

References

  • "Mountain Brook Estates, Inc." promotional pamphlet (c. 1926) Jemison & Company. Reprinted 2007 by the Birmingham Historical Society
  • Barefield, Marilyn Davis (1989) A History of Mountain Brook, Alabama & Incidentally of Shades Valley. Birmingham: Southern University Press