The Whatley Historic District is a historic district

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 in the community of Whatley

Whatley, Alabama

Whatley is an unincorporated community in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. It is named in honor of Franklin Benjamin Whatley. Whatley is the birthplace of bandleader and trombonist Grover Mitchell....

, Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. Whatley was founded with the establishment of a railroad depot

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 in 1887, along the then newly constructed railroad

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 between Mobile

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

 and Selma

Selma, Alabama

Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....

. It was incorporated as a town in 1901. The historic district features examples of Craftsman

American Craftsman

The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...

, Queen Anne, and regional vernacular

Vernacular architecture

Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 architecture. Spread over 45 acres (18.2 ha) with 17 contributing buildings and one object, it is roughly bounded by the Whatley Road from Grove Hill

Grove Hill, Alabama

Grove Hill is a town in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,438. It is the county seat of Clarke County and home of the Clarke County Museum.-History:...

 to the railroad tracks. It is a part of the Clarke County Multiple Property Submission and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

on April 30, 1998.