Sunshine & Dorothy Morton House
Brierfield Iron Works Historical State Park
Originally located off Patton Chapel Road in what is today Hoover, Alabama, the Sunshine and Dorothy Morton house was moved to the Brierfield Park in March 2005 by the Morton family and restored over the next two years by restoration specialist Russell “Rusty Cruthers.
Built as a country home for L. P. Siegel, circa 1931, the dwelling was purchased by Boyette Edgar Morton and wife Dorothy in 1942. Here they reared five children, Steve, Barry, Katha Lee, Lynn and Todd, constructing an addition in 1947-1949 that was not moved here.
Boyette Edgar Morton was born in East Lake on September 6, 1911. Throughout his life, he was called Sunshine, a nickname given him by his maternal grandmother, Katie Sanders, about 1915. Dorothy Allen Pritchett Morton was born near Mobile, Alabama on October 12, 1912. Sunshine married Dorothy on November 11, 1934. The couple lived in Tarrant City, Huffman, and Shocco Springs before purchasing this log house.
Sunshine was a successful concrete contractor finishing his career with Robins Engineering. His son Barry, eventually became chief executive officer and majority owner of the company, renamed Robins & Morton in 1990. Sunshine passed away in 1963. Dorothy continued to live in the house until June 1997. She passed away in June 2004.
The structure is an excellent example of rustic-style architecture characterized by the use of log, stone, and other materials finished to blend harmoniously with a natural setting. The popularity of this early 20th century style can be seen today in the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone National Park and many buildings constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in federal and state parks in the 1930s and 1940s.
This home was given, restored, and furnished by the Morton Family in 2007. That same year the structure was officially listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
Marker is on State Park Road south of Furnace Road (County Road 62), on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
