This circa 1820 house, on a lot platted by the Courtland Land Company in 1818, is thought to be one of the oldest houses in Courtland and faces north toward what was once the main Tuscumbia Road. Dr. Jack Shackelford (1790-1857), an early settler and legislator, is believed to have lived here in the mid 1800s, and after a nearby Civil War skirmish the house served as a military hospital. In 1895 Mrs. Susan Jackson Harris, granddaughter of James Jackson of the Forks of Cypress Plantation near Florence and wife of John Hunter Harris of Rosemont Plantation, acquired the house. Her daughter Caroline Harris Simpson lived here until 1972, and descendants owned the house until 1995. In 2001 the Alabama Preservation Alliance purchased the property and placed a protective easement on it requiring future owners to preserve the house and grounds. The house is a good example of the early American I house, known for its tall, narrow side profile. The original section is two stories, with two large rooms and a central hall on both floors. Its braced-frame construction is covered with beaded siding, and the interior includes Federal-period mantelpieces, molded trim, chair rails, and a paneled staircase. Traces of faux-bois decorative painting also survive, and an unusual feature is the shed-roofed chimney pent, or closet, abutting the west chimney. Side and rear additions were added in the early 1900s.