Tuscaloosa’s first licensed black mortician, Mr. Will J. Murphy, built this two-story craftsman bungalow in the early 1920s as his private residence. Materials from the old state capitol building a few blocks away, such as bricks and window sills, were salvaged when it burned in 1923 and used in the house’s construction. Today, the structure operates as a museum focusing on the lifestyle of affluent blacks during the early 1900s. The Murphy-Collins House is the home of the Murphy African American Museum
