One could state that the Friedman family, of the Battle-Friedman house, was Tuscaloosa’s first preservationist. Bernard Friedman purchased the Battle House in 1875 after moving to Tuscaloosa from Atlanta. Born in a small town outside of Budapest, Hungary, Friedman came to America in 1852 when he was only 16 years old. He started as a peddler in the South before opening a store in Atlanta in 1867. Soon after, he moved the business to Tuscaloosa. In 1870, Friedman lived in Tuscaloosa with $300 in real estate and $600 in personal property, a relatively modest amount of wealth. Over the course of the next decade, Friedman built his business into a thriving retail and wholesale operation. He partnered with Emanuel Loveman, who lived in New York and acted as a buyer for the Atlanta Store in Tuscaloosa, which was run by Friedman. His business catered to Tuscaloosa residents as well as farmers from the surrounding countryside. In one 1876 ad, the store announced that it offered a “sleeping apartment” in the wagon yard behind the store for people who had to travel a long way to get to town and needed to spend the night in Tuscaloosa. Friedman was not content with being a dry goods merchant, asking his customers to “bring along your cotton” when they came to the store. Friedman and his partner Loveman bought land all over Tuscaloosa County, which they rented out to miners, farmers, and timber companies. While writing about Friedman, the local newspaper claimed that “the operations of this active, brainy merchant extends over a large territory in Alabama.” By 1880, Friedman had moved into a grand house in the middle of town. Four African American domestic workers lived with Friedman and his family at that time.
Friedman was actively involved in the civic and economic development of Tuscaloosa. He helped to organize the first national bank in Tuscaloosa, as well as the Tuscaloosa Coal, Iron, and Land Company. He was a board member of the state hospital for the insane, which was located in Tuscaloosa. Friedman served on the city’s board of aldermen from 1882 to 1890, during which he became a passionate advocate for public education. He was instrumental in establishing Tuscaloosa’s public school system. The Friedman family remained prominent in Tuscaloosa well into the twentieth century, though they eventually joined the Presbyterian Church. The house stayed in the family until 1965 when Bernards’ son deeded the house to the City of Tuscaloosa. The family home has been preserved as a museum by the Historic Tuscaloosa.
