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Archival Resources
Researching Local Houses And Buildings
Birmingham
and Jefferson County enjoy a rich architectural heritage. For
anyone researching the history of a local house or building, the downtown
Birmingham
Public Library offers a number of useful resources. In many cases
the Library staff can direct you to additional sources not listed below.
Sources
Available in the Archives Department Include:
Jefferson
County Board of Equalization Appraisal Files, which generally cover the period
of the late 1930s to the mid 1970s provide
information
on most pieces of property in Jefferson County. These files include some details about construction, sometimes date a house or building,
and
often include photographs and information on previous owners. A parcel
identification
number is needed to retrieve these files. You may find this
number
(actually a series of numbers such as 28-14-3-9-11 or 3-22-1-10-2) on
a tax notice or other legal documentation relating to a piece of property, you
may look the number up using a street address in the Library’s Business
Department, or visit or call the Jefferson County Board of Equalization
(205-325-5566) to obtain your parcel identification number.
Sources
Available in the Southern History Department Include:
City
Directories, which are similar to telephone books, provide the names
(and often occupation) of people living at a particular address or the
name
of a business located at a particular address. This is a good source for
tracing
the occupants of a house or building over time. City directories are available
for Birmingham (1883 to the present), Bessemer (various years),
and
Birmingham suburbs (1965 to the present).
Newspaper
clipping files, which are arranged by subject, are good sources
of information on prominent local houses or buildings, on towns and
cities,
neighborhoods, people, businesses, churches, and schools.
See also: The Jefferson County Historical Commission's
Historic Marker Program
Hard
to Find Items Include:
Floor
plans, blueprints, and names of architects for most houses and buildings
are not available at the Library. Interior photographs are also rare.
Suggested Research Strategy
Approach your research systematically. A suggested strategy is to:
1. Visit or call the Jefferson County Board of Equalization
(205-325-5566) to obtain your parcel identification number.
2. Visit the Library's Archives to the see the Board of Equalization
file on your property.
3. Visit the Library's Southern History Department to check city
directories, published sources, and clipping files.
4. Supplement the information gathered from these sources by talking to
neighbors or previous occupants, by consulting property abstracts (if
available), or by checking other sources recommended by library staff or
members of the Historical Commission. |
