Alabama became the 22nd member of the United States on Dec. 14, 1819, but the City of Athens had been incorporated the year before. Some eight years later, a home known today as the Richardson-Gordon house was built in what would come to be called the Robert Beaty Historic District downtown.

The Federal/Greek Revival-style house has gone through several different owners over the last 200 years, with one more name soon to be added to the list. The house, at 401 S. Clinton St., will be auctioned off by John Stewart Auction Company at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy a historic house, especially a Federal/Greek Revival-style home,” Stewart said. “I’ve been doing this for 45 years, and we’ve sold a few historic homes but not many.”

The Richardson-Gordon house was under renovation by its current owner before the decision was made to put it up for auction. Stewart said the home still needs to “go back together, but it will make a nice place.”

The house is two stories with brick walls and hardwood floors. There are four bedrooms and five bathrooms, with fireplaces in the master suite and living room. The property also features a detached two-car carport, three porches and an area that could be a studio apartment or man cave and an in-ground storm shelter.

The property is being listed by Dick Chittam Realty. Chittam said he has done some research on the home, with some information coming from Wayne Kuykendall. Chittam said this might be the first home of its type he has seen at auction.

“They don’t go up for sale very often,” he said. “This is probably the second-oldest house in the Beaty Historic District. The Beaty House owned by (Athens State University) was built in 1826, and this one was built in 1827, or at least it was started then.”

Chittam said the national registry has the home recorded as built in 1835, but the data he has collected puts it eight years earlier.

House history

According to info provided by Chittam, William Richardson, an attorney from Virginia, built the home for his new bride Anne Davis. She was the daughter of Nicholas Davis, an early state politician and namesake of Nick Davis Road in Athens.

Davis lived with the family for a time and added a wing to the home in 1850. Davis is believed to have been there when he died in 1856, and William and Anne died within the next decade.

Their heirs rented the house out for a time before it was eventually purchased by Roswell Hine and given to his daughter Betty and her husband Dr. Nicholas Davis Richardson.

The house remained in the Richardson family until 1951,when it was sold to Lawson Draper. It was later purchased by the Al Scherff family, who sold it to David and Clodessa Gordon in 1972.

“These homes usually stay in the family that built them from generation to generation,” Chittam said. “The Gordon family sold it a few years ago. We wanted to let people know we have an important historical house going up for sale.”

Auction house

Anyone interested in the property can call Chittam at 256-874-0111 or Stewart at 256-431-7504 to schedule a personal preview before the auction Saturday. Stewart said interested parties will generally arrive an hour or so before the auction time.

“We’ll give everyone the terms and conditions, and then I’ll sell the house at public auction,” Stewart said. “Before it starts, we’ll get somebody to give us an opening bid, and we’ll go until there’s only one man standing.”