Point 1: Harrison Brothers Hardware
124 Southside Square
The first segment of our walking tour is focused on the buildings constructed by Henderson and Daniel Brandon, founders of Huntsville’s most successful Black owned business in the Reconstruction Era.
The Brandon family exemplified the promise of Reconstruction. Henderson Brandon, Daniel’s father, made the journey from enslaved person to entrepreneur. He and his son formed Henderson Brandon & Son in 1886. The Harrison Brothers building is the best preserved building constructed by Daniel Brandon. The Harrisons contracted with Brandon to expand and rebuild their building following a 1901 fire. The Harrison Brothers building is the best preserved example of a Brandon building.
Harrison Brothers Façade
Between 1886 and 1902, the Brandons constructed eleven structures in downtown Huntsville. Four still stand. The Brandons become the favored contractor for private developers, and the City of Huntsville also awarded their firm public works projects won through a competitive bid process.
Daniel Brandon served two terms on the Huntsville Board of Aldermen in 1897 and 1901. His last election occurred just months before the ratification of Alabama’s racist 1901 Constitution. After he and fellow aldermen Henry C. Binford left office in 1905, Huntsville voters would not elect another Black man to city office until 1988.
