Object description

The William Lanford House is a historic residence in Huntsville, Alabama. The house was built by William Lanford, a native of Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Lanford's father, Robert, was an early land speculator who came to Huntsville from Nashville along with LeRoy Pope. William purchased 1,975 acres in 1843 and built his house in 1850. Lanford's daughter, Mary, married physician John R. Slaughter in 1853, who later moved his practice to the house in William Lanford's later life. Upon his death in 1881, the land was divided among Lanford's daughters, with Mary and Dr. Slaughter remaining in the house. After Mary's death in 1913, the house was sold to William Olin Camper in 1919. Camper and his brother Robert were merchants in Madison and Huntsville, and owned the Twickenham Hotel in Huntsville.