Co-Nita Manor, also called the Coleman-Brunson House, is a Neo-Classical Revival house built by Dr. Solon Lycurgus Coleman, Jr. in Uniontown, Alabama, around 1909. His father, Dr. Solon Lycurgus Coleman, Sr., joined the 4th Alabama Infantry as a Private in Company D in 1862. He was hurt in the right leg during the Battle of Fredericksburg. He went back to work at the end of 1864, and in 1865, he was made the buying agent for the Division Hospital.
In May 1861, Georgia was where the 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment was formed. It fought until Lee gave up at Appomattox Court House. During the Civil War, it was in charge of 1,422 men. Of those, 240 died in fighting and nearly 100 died from diseases. Dr. Solon L. Coleman, Sr. and his wife, Rosa Scott Coleman, had a child after he came home from the war. Solon Lycurgus Coleman, who was their third child and was named after Dr. Coleman, was born in Uniontown on May 22, 1874. His father had died four months before, in January 1874, when he was 35 years old. So he never met him. Rosemont Cemetery in Uniontown is where Dr. Solon Lycurgus Coleman, Sr. is laid to rest.
In an effort to follow in his father’s footsteps, Solon L. Coleman, Jr. decided to pursue a career in medicine. In 1896, he achieved the distinction of becoming the first person to graduate from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now known as Auburn University) with a degree in the field of pharmacy.
Later on, he pursued a degree in medicine at Tulane University, where he was awarded his degree. Upon graduation, he started immediately upon the practice of medicine, devoting his entire life to his career while working in the same city that he had been born in.
In the year 1899, Dr. Coleman relocated his family to Uniontown in order to accept a position as the city’s health officer during an outbreak of smallpox. Vaccinations were carried out at his office, which was situated on the second floor of Julius Marx’s dry goods and mercantile store, which was situated at the intersection of Water and Front Streets. In the future, Dr. Coleman would go on to wed Julius Marx Coleman’s sister, Estelle Marx Coleman, in the year 1901.
Sadly, she passed away in 1903, when she was only 21 years old, not long after that. In February of 1906, Solon L. Coleman made the purchase of a land in Uniontown with the intention of constructing a magnificent residence for his family. Coleman oversaw the construction of his Neo-Classical residence known as Co-Nita Manor, which was built between 1906 and 1909, however it is unknown where the name originates from. The Co-Nita Manor is 3,381 square feet in size and features four bedrooms in addition to its two bathrooms.
In 1927, Dr. Coleman tied the knot once more, this time with Martha Ida McGinniss Brown-Coleman. Dr. Solon L. Coleman passed away in 1938 at the age of 68 at a hospital in Selma, Alabama, following a brief bout with illness. He was laid to rest in Rosemont Cemetery. After some time, the Brunson family acquired ownership of Co-Nita Manor.
For a long time, Co-Nita Manor was unoccupied. They started fixing it up in 2010, but they never got around to finishing it. Since then, the house has been put up for sale multiple times. House and 1-acre lot were just advertised for $54,900 by Bill Mackey Real Estate.
As a member of the Uniontown Historic District, Co-Nita Manor was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 2000. The application gives a detailed description of the house’s layout and design, down to the fanlights and sidelights that flank the central double-leaf entrance on both levels. The home’s main portico and lower portico are both adorned with Corinthian columns. The outside corbelled chimneys and ornate quoins are also worth mentioning.
