Old Monroe County Bank (A.C. Lee's Law Office)
Monroe County Bank Building, Corner North Mount Pleasant and West Claiborne
Pictured is the Old Monroe County Bank Building, once the home of A. C. Lee’s law office, where local author Nelle Harper Lee wrote portions of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Excepting the Old Monroe County Courthouse, no other local building is so integral to the town’s literary legacy.
The Monroe County Bank was founded in Monroeville on February 11, 1904. Its first office was in the 1852 courthouse, which was vacated due to the establishment of the 1903 courthouse next door. J. B. Barnett, Sr. was the first President of the Monroe County Bank, which was the first bank in Monroe County. He arrived in Monroeville in 1901 and opened his law office. According to local historian George Thomas Jones, there was a huge need for a local bank in Monroeville. The economy was almost solely dependent on farming, and it was almost impossible for the local farmers to obtain affordable loans. J. B. Barnett raised $8,000 from local businessmen toward the $15,000 minimum required to establish a bank, then raised the additional $7,000 from out of town investors.
In 1909 the bank moved in to its new two-story brick building on the southwest corner of the town square. Originally, the bank occupied only the building on the corner. It was later expanded to include the building next to it, which had been Hixon’s Store. To reach the second floor of the original corner building, there was a door on the southwest corner of the building which opened to a stairwell that went straight up to the large director’s room. The front area on the second floor was residential, being occupied by Dr. Ida A. Fraser, a chiropractor who had both her residence and office there. A stair on the north side of the Hixon building gave access to a lawyer’s office. Harper Lee’s father, A. C. Lee, had his law office in this building, as did his daughter Alice, first upstairs, then downstairs.
Harper Lee wrote portions of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, in her father’s law office in this building.
In 1923, the second bank founded in Monroeville, the Bank of Monroeville, merged with the Monroe County Bank. Harper Lee’s father, A. C. Lee, was Vice President of the Bank of Monroeville. In 1972, the Monroe County Bank moved from its location on the downtown square to a new office on Hines Street. In 2004, the Monroe County Bank merged with Bank Trust, and in 2012 it was acquired by Trustmark National Bank.
Atticus’s office, p. 171
“Atticus’s office was in the courthouse when he began his law practice, but after several years of it he moved to quieter quarters in the Maycomb Bank building. When we rounded the corner of the square, we saw the car parked in front of the bank…” When we rounded the corner of the square, we saw the car parked in front of the bank. . .” His office was reached by a long hallway. Looking down the hall we should have seen Atticus Finch, Attorney-at-Law in small sober letters agains the light from behind the door. . .”
Pictured is the Old Monroe County Bank Building, once the home of A. C. Lee’s law office, where local author Nelle Harper Lee wrote portions of “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Excepting the Old Monroe County Courthouse, no other local building is so integral to the town’s literary legacy.
The Monroe County Bank was founded in Monroeville on February 11, 1904. Its first office was in the 1852 courthouse, which was vacated due to the establishment of the 1903 courthouse next door. J. B. Barnett, Sr. was the first President of the Monroe County Bank, which was the first bank in Monroe County. He arrived in Monroeville in 1901 and opened his law office. According to local historian George Thomas Jones, there was a huge need for a local bank in Monroeville. The economy was almost solely dependent on farming, and it was almost impossible for the local farmers to obtain affordable loans. J. B. Barnett raised $8,000 from local businessmen toward the $15,000 minimum required to establish a bank, then raised the additional $7,000 from out of town investors.
In 1909 the bank moved in to its new two-story brick building on the southwest corner of the town square. Originally, the bank occupied only the building on the corner. It was later expanded to include the building next to it, which had been Hixon’s Store. To reach the second floor of the original corner building, there was a door on the southwest corner of the building which opened to a stairwell that went straight up to the large director’s room. The front area on the second floor was residential, being occupied by Dr. Ida A. Fraser, a chiropractor who had both her residence and office there. A stair on the north side of the Hixon building gave access to a lawyer’s office. Harper Lee’s father, A. C. Lee, had his law office in this building, as did his daughter Alice, first upstairs, then downstairs.
Harper Lee wrote portions of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, in her father’s law office in this building.
In 1923, the second bank founded in Monroeville, the Bank of Monroeville, merged with the Monroe County Bank. Harper Lee’s father, A. C. Lee, was Vice President of the Bank of Monroeville. In 1972, the Monroe County Bank moved from its location on the downtown square to a new office on Hines Street. In 2004, the Monroe County Bank merged with Bank Trust, and in 2012 it was acquired by Trustmark National Bank.
Atticus’s office, p. 171
“Atticus’s office was in the courthouse when he began his law practice, but after several years of it he moved to quieter quarters in the Maycomb Bank building. When we rounded the corner of the square, we saw the car parked in front of the bank…” When we rounded the corner of the square, we saw the car parked in front of the bank. . .” His office was reached by a long hallway. Looking down the hall we should have seen Atticus Finch, Attorney-at-Law in small sober letters agains the light from behind the door. . .”
