Roebuck Springs subdivision
The Roebuck Springs subdivision is an historic residential neighborhood in Birmingham's Roebuck Springs - South Roebuck neighborhood.
The subdivision was created on land granted in 1825 to pioneer farmer Audly Hamilton. His property, located in Jones Valley and on the northern slope of Red Mountain, was passed down through the Wilson family. The property adjoined Georgia Road, which approached through Sadler's Gap, and Blountsville Road (now 4th Avenue South).
The East Lake Land Company partnered with the Roebuck Auto and Golf Club in 1910 to finance the development of 200 acres and hired Robert Jemison Jr's Jemison Company to plan the project, along with its companion, the smaller Roebuck Terrace subdivision.
Jemison, inspired by contemporary automobile suburbs, planned the neighborhood with narrow, curving roads and estate-size lots. The planners made liberal use of terraces held up by fieldstone walls to shape the land. A variety of homes in the Craftsman, English Arts & Crafts and Tudor Revival styles were constructed. Many of the new residences were large, but some, intended as summer cottages, were rather modest in size. Architect S. Scott Joy and his brother, Tom, participated in the design and construction of many of those first estates. Wilson's Spring was impounded south of Valley Lake Drive to create a small reservoir to provide piped water to those homes. The spring-fed lake also became a popular neighborhood swimming hole.
Additional sections of the neighborhood were platted in 1926 by the [[Roebuck Springs Land Company]]. Many of these homes were designed in the then-popular Colonial Revival style. Some newly-opened streets, such as Ridge Top Circle and Rutherford Circle remained unimproved during the Great Depression and World War II years.
The Post-war years saw rapid development surrounding Roebuck Springs, with the sprawling Roebuck Plaza Shopping Center and the development of Roebuck Parkway. In some cases large lots were redivided. New residential construction in the historic subdivision was typically more compact and introduced more stripped-down, functional styles of architecture. Later construction, in the 1950s and 1960s, brought split-level and ranch style houses into the area.
The construction of Interstate 59 through Roebuck in the late 1960s required the demolition of numerous historic houses on Old Blountsville Road and separated the residential neighborhood from the golf course by cutting across Roebuck Street (89th Street South).
The 135-acre Roebuck Springs Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
References
- Hearn, Mildred (1984) "Roebuck Springs: Legacies from the Crossroads. Birmingham: Roebuck Springs Garden Club
- Hearn, Mildred (1993) "Recollections, Reminiscences...and More Legacies from the Crossroads. Birmingham: Roebuck Springs Garden Club
- Ruisi, Anne (April 5, 2010) "Birmingham's Roebuck Springs neighborhood turning 100." The Birmingham News