Refining History

Visitors and members walking onto the landscaped, springtime grounds of the University Club can almost feel the years swim by in reverse. Steeped in history, the club serves as a private dining facility for members and their guests, who are primarily connected to The University of Alabama, though membership is open to others as well.

The histories of the University Club and the University run parallel. This Greek Revival home was built on land reserved by the U.S. Congress as part of the 1819 donation to endow "a seminary of learning" for the new state of Alabama. Later that year, however, University trustees sold the land in order to finance the building of the University.

The land was sold to steamboat captain and state legislator James H. Dearing in 1834, only a few years after the University opened, and he built his home on the land. Its appearance has changed very little from that original building.

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