W.H. Davis moved to Huntsville in 1894, a few months before the great fire of 1894. Almost all of the buildings on Main Street between the bridge and West were destroyed in the blaze, including Davis’s butcher store. He set up a livery business at his home on the corner of West and Duncan Streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that time, there was no regulation limiting the number of houses on a town lot. Davis’s entrepreneurial spirit went into overdrive and he built two housing units on the lot next to him in 1898, and two more on another lot on Duncan Street. In April 1902, he had 18 more houses planned south of Duncan Street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davisville, as the area was called, grew to 40 houses by 1904, with Davis building as many as six tenement houses per year. Each was two storeys high and contained seven rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nPhoto and details courtesy of <\/em>Huntsville: With Spirit and Resolve. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n See more Wayback Wednesday photos here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n