Completed in 1829, the Gorgas House was built two years prior to the opening of the University of Alabama. It was the first establishment constructed in the university campus and one of the few remaining antebellum structures that saw through the bloody end of the Civil War.

The Gorgas House was originally intended to provide guest accommodations for the university?s visiting professors and dignitaries. If no visitors were present, it also served as the students? dining hall. During the years of the Civil War, the house belonged to Professor John W. Pratt and was remodelled to serve as residence for faculty members. Then known as the Pratt House, the property was eventually deeded to Confederate General Josiash Gorgas, who had retired due to health reasons.

Now an official memorial to the Gorgas family, the house is also one of the properties belonging to the University of Alabama Museums.