The marker reads
MONTE SANO
Mountain of
Health Recreation Residence
Developed 1925 by
D. C. Monroe, Founder
Herbert Johnson M. M. Hutchens
S. S. Thompson Ira M. Terry
W. P. Dilworth
The gentlemen listed above are among the original officers and directors of The Mountain Heights Development Company, which was incorporated in 1925 to develop Monte Sano. Serving as President was D.C. Monroe, whose family business in downtown Huntsville was the Monroe Printing Company. In small towns it was a practice for the printing shops to stock typewriters,
adding machines, stationery, and other items found in business equipment stores. D.C.'s son, Gene Monroe, became owner/manager of a new firm with a new location and named it Bizness Equipment Company
. An employee of the family business related this story me. A merchant on the same street told Gene Monroe, you had better misspell a keyword to draw attention
-- back in those days there was not much flashing light and music advertising. After 8-10 years, the store moved about two blocks to a larger location, and changed its name to Monroe's Business Equipment. During the build-up of Redstone Arsenal they had the successful franchise for manual Royal typewriters in all of North Alabama.
Herbert Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, was a co-owner of the Johnson & Mahoney men's clothing store, and M. M. Hutchens, Vice President, owned and ran the family hardware store. Among the Directors were Ira Terry, whose dry-goods business on the square had the slogan, Great is the Power of Cash, emblazoned on its facade facing the Court House. Our mountain neighbor Walt Terry is related to this family.
S.S. Sam
Thompson, an original member of the Board of Directors, built a quality, year-around home facing the west bluff. At the back it faced Panorama Dr., and was one of the first houses built by The Monte Sano Construction Co. Unfortunately, this house was destroyed by fire in 1977, rebuilt in 1978, and is now the location of the Ralph Petroff home at 5510 Panorama Dr. The W. P. Dilworth family owned and operated the Dilworth Lumber Company on Church Street near the train station for four generations.
Coming up the mountain from Burritt Museum the marker is located on the north-west corner of the intersection of Monte Sano Blvd. and Panorama Dr. The lot measures 95 feet on three sides by 82 in the rear. Mr. I. A. Burdette, an out-of-town investor and a director in the Company, bought Lot 21, 1st Division, Monte Sano Construction Co., south section. A basement was dug, and a hand-hewn sandstone foundation built. A small green frame building was built on about one-third of the foundation, and was occupied by a small family. The man worked for the Monte Sano Construction Co., mainly with the water system. Later in the 30's, it was vacant and the building was demolished. The property has been covered up with undergrowth for years. The story on the street
was that Mr. Burdette went bankrupt and moved back to Florida. The next door neighbors in their summer house were the A. J. Moore's. The house faces Panorama Dr. with a low sandstone wall in front of the yard. As children, my sister and I would be sitting on the wall waiting for our parents to come home from the family's jewelry store. For the last part of the trip--a half of a block--to our house, we jumped on the running boards on the family car and had a great time! The depression days of the 1930's were difficult times for the mountain investors. Property values dropped to only a fraction of the original price. At an auction on June 20, 1932, my Mother bought two lots with a total front footage of 85 ft. on Monte Sano Blvd., now identified as number 1511, for $40. Payment was $10 down and a promissory note for $30.
Also in 1932, I recall as a child walking--sometimes barefooted--on Panorama Drive, on one lane of a sandy trail piled high with trees which had been cut to be burned before the road was completed. The other lane was in use for traffic.
J. Emery Pierce, one of the Company's original directors who dropped out, built the original Huntsville Daily Times building at the corner of Green St. and Holmes St. downtown. It had 13 floors, but the upper floor was never finished. The reason was that the payment became due once the building was completed. Later on Mr. Pierce was indicted on charges of pretending to be a federal officer in allegedly fraudulent sales in TVA stock. He was held in jail in Jackson, Tennessee, awaiting his trial in Federal Court.
There were several different financial reorganizations of The Mountain Heights Development Company over the years. By August 28, 1940, only four shareholders remained of the original investors: M.M. Hutchens, President, Herbert Johnson, Secretary – Treasurer, and two directors: Ira M. Terry and W. P. Dilworth. Each shareholder owned 75 shares. At the stockholders meeting the Company was put in Receivership. On that date, all of the properties were conveyed to M. M. Hutchens and Herbert Johnson as trustees.
A 1957 map drawn by G. W. Jones, Huntsville surveyors, gives the street layout of the approximately 200 acres on the southern plateau of Monte Sano Mountain. In June of that year, a change of street names was recorded since several proposed street names duplicated those already in existence downtown. Therefore, Alabama Ave. became Hutchens Avenue, Huntsville Avenue changed to Wildwood Dr., Madison Ave. to Skyview Dr., and Spring Ave. to Belcrest Dr. New streets added were Crescent Circle, Thompson Circle, Inspiration Lane, and Woodward Drive. Monroe's View planned for the east bluff was discontinued. Highland Plaza, the highest spot on Monte Sano, was planned as a wider street, but in the end lot owners on each side of the street gained 20 feet for their front or side yards.
Sunrise Terrace, the area east of Skyview Dr., now has a historical marker. From 1880-1939 it was the Schrimsher's truck farm. At one time there was a small white building under a large oak tree next to the road serving as a gambling establishment. In the 1950's some of the lots from the farm property were bought by members of the German von Braun rocket team who had just arrived in Huntsville from Ft. Bliss, Texas. This seemed to begin a renewed interest in Monte Sano. Sam Thompson began once again selling building lots. For 25 years 'Mr. Sam' never gave up, he always said, it will happen one day
, as he reflected on the economic depression era. The Company still owned substantial property on the northeastern and northwestern section of Panorama Dr., and on what is now Hutchens Ave. They built houses for sale on this property, perhaps it was the largest number of houses on the mountain to be built for sale by one owner. By 1966, the Company had liquidated all of its property.
It is my opinion before all of the men listed on the marker died, a monument was placed on Lot 21 by a local civic organization with their names and the purpose of Monte Sano – Health, Recreation and Residence. It is impossible to build on the lot now, since we are in the city of Huntsville with building restrictions.
Monte Sano has changed in my lifetime. The marker reminds current Monte Sano residents of the individuals who came before us and their vision to develop this mountain top for our enjoyment.
ca.1926. Photo Courtesy Virgil DeStefano, Sr.
The greeting displayed on the original Arch Entrance at the intersection of Governor's Dr. and Monte Sano Blvd. was the spirit of a young D.C. Monroe while he worked during the summer months of 1890-92 at the Monte Sano Hotel. In a letter dated October 11, 1926, to Dr. W.L. Williams, he states, I have never quite given up this idea of a development of this wonderful spot that might bring pleasure and healthful benefits to our community
. It still rings true today!