Art & History at Home in Dadeville STORY BY BETSY ILER & PHOTOS BY KENNETH BOONE
D
adeville native Anne-Marie Timberlake Jones and her Huntsville native husband, Stokes, were living in an 1875 federal-style house in Georgia when they began planning their move back to Alabama in 2019. Lovers of history and art, the couple wanted a home to accommodate their family and friends while also providing a spacious, yet warm, setting in which to enjoy their various collections. “We were inspired by the downtown Dadeville revitalization and felt like this might be a small way to contribute,” Jones explained. The couple was attracted to a historic home on Columbus Street, partly for its 6,500-plus square footage, but also because they wanted to preserve the life and history of the landmark home. The sprawling Queen Anne abode was originally built by Thomas Sturdivant in 1881 to be near the bank he ran on the Dadeville courthouse square. Years later,
28 Lake Martin Living
the Sturdivant House became known as Easterwood’s Nursing Home, and was used as office space for a healthcare company until the Joneses purchased it. “We bought the house in June of 2019 and started working on it,” she said. “It took more renovation to ‘deinstitutionalize’ it than we anticipated. We would still be at square one if it weren’t for the genius of my brother, Sam, who constantly amazed us with what he could do.” In the process of transitioning the 20-plus rooms into a cohesive livable space, they created settings to showcase the historic pieces collected over the years. They retained the home’s original Victorian foyer, starting with a long, wide hall from which the living spaces extend. Preserving a Local Landmark
Below: The Joneses' living room was once the sunroom at Easterwood's Nursing Home; Opposite:An 1877 burled walnut Collard & Collard baby grand piano commands the music room.
