Tolstoy Park

United States historic place

Henry Stuart House

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

The house in September 2012

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Location| 22787 AL 98, Montrose, Alabama
Coordinates| 30°33′23″N 87°53′38″W﻿ / ﻿30.55639°N 87.89389°W﻿ / 30.55639; -87.89389
Area| less than one acre
Built| 1926 (1926)
Architect| Henry Stuart
NRHP reference No.| 05000841[1]
Added to NRHP| October 27, 2006

Tolstoy Park (also known as the Henry Stuart House and the Hermit House) is a historic residence in Montrose, Alabama, United States. The house was built by Henry Stuart, an Englishman who had emigrated to the United States as a child. Stuart was living in Nampa, Idaho, when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to move to a warmer climate to live out his days. In 1923, he purchased 10 acres (4 ha) outside Fairhope, Alabama, which he named Tolstoy Park.

Stuart began building a circular, domed hut in 1925, pouring each concrete block himself. Construction was completed in less than a year, although delayed by a hurricane in September 1926. The house is about 14 feet (4.2 m) in diameter and sunk 2 feet (61 cm) into the ground. Six top-hinged windows circle the building, and there were two skylights in the roof that are now permanently closed. Stuart sought to live a simple life, growing much of his own food and weaving rugs on a loom he brought from Idaho. He kept a guestbook for visitors to sign; notably, lawyer Clarence Darrow visited the hut six times. Stuart left Alabama in 1944, moving to Oregon to live with his son, where he died in 1946.

Today, the hut and a large oak tree are all that remain of Stuart's estate; a parking lot for a real estate office surrounds the hut.[2] A novel based on Stuart's life, The Poet of Tolstoy Park, was published in 2005. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[1]

## References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tolstoy Park (Montrose, Alabama).

1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
2. ^ Wilson, Shaun. "Stuart, Henry, House". National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014. See also: "Accompanying photos". Archived (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.

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