Built by pioneers, maintained by faith

My first house was a 1947 wood frame bungalow in Orlando. Despite my best efforts, every year I had to replace pieces of wood siding. My current house, built in 1924, has fared better because its cypress cladding is covered with layer of ugly, yet durable vinyl siding. Yet I still have had to replace my wonderful Old Florida dock, the floor boards on my porch require constant maintenance, and wooden planter boxes seem to melt before my eyes. It's hard to preserve wood structures in the sub tropical climate of Florida.

Many of the grand historical buildings from that era built out of wood have been lost – enormous resort hotels, elegant Victorian mansions, and early commercial buildings have all burned, been torn down, or simply left to rot. The last grand wooden resort hotel of the railroad age, the Belleview Biltmore in Bellaire near Clearwater, seems doomed.

So I am thrilled when I find structures that were built before the Civil War at a time when the state was sparsely populated and only hardy souls could stick it out in this swampy land of mosquitoes and high humidity. Many of these buildings are churches whose congregations lovingly maintained and cared for their houses of worships for decades. Like the lovely St. Mary's in Green Cove Springs, St. Marks Episcopal Church in Palatka has been around since the middle of the 19th century. Also a board and batten Carpenter Gothic design, the church is a few blocks from Judge Isaac Bronson's Sunny Point mansion. Bronson, as well as Judge James Burt and Florida's first Governor William Dunn Mosely, were instrumental in the creation of the church in 1854-55. Before the Civil War, services were only held during the cooler winter months, evidence of Palatka's status a riverside resort destination for Northerners. During the War the church was occupied by Union troops who are said to have damaged the structure. The church received full parish status in 1873 and was added to the National Historic Register in 1973.

From the State Archives of Florida

From the State Archives of Florida

From the State Archives of Florida

In addition to St. Mark's and the Bronson-Mulholland House, Palatka's Northern Historic District has other wonderful Victorian-era homes. As the owner of a wood frame house, I understand the commitment it takes to maintain an older home. I am thankful for the loving caretakers of these windows to Florida's past.

Photo by Ebyabe

Photo by Ebyabe

Houses of Palatka's North Historic District

Elegance for sale: Ferncourt in San Mateo Florida

I recently read the following passage in "Mr. Flagler's St. Augustine" by Thomas Graham.

Below Palatka, on the east bank of the St. Johns River, a handful of hearty pioneers had established extensive orange groves. They shipped their fruit out by way of steamboats, but they also wanted a link to Flagler's railroad. Back in March a group of San Mateo citizens had called upon Flagler in St. Augustine and invited him to come down to see the extent of their enterprises. Flagler took them up on their offer, and when they petitioned him for a rail extension and offered to give him land for a right-of-way, he agreed to run a four-mile spur to their village. 

Flagler was so enamored with the little settlement of San Mateo that he purchased two orange groves there, and according to Graham, on New Years Eve Flagler brought the entire population of the town to St. Augustine to celebrate at his ornate Hotel Ponce de Leon.

Florida East Coast Railroad engine #10 and crew, State Archives of Florida

Ralph Crosby, Martha Webster Crosby, maid, and dogs, State Archives of Florida

Railroad freight depot, circa 1891, State Archives of Florida

View in grove of San Mateo Fruit Co., State Archives of Florida

Some facts about San Mateo:

• Located 5 miles south of Palatka on the east side of the St. Johns River, it is the highest point on that side of the river at 85 feet above the waterline

• The town was named after the first settler Mateo Simeon Solana, a Minorcan from St. Augustine

• In 1880 San Mateo had 400 acres of citrus groves

• San Mateo's biggest proponent was Henry Flagler, who supposedly started the San Mateo Cigar Company and offered free lots in San Mateo to anyone who purchased 1,000 cigars*

* From “A Historic Tour Guide to Palatka and Putnam County Florida” written and compiled by Susan Clark

There were three hotels in San Mateo, and my trip to this now unincorporated area in Putnam County was to see the one known as Ferncourt. Ferncourt was built in 1889 by Massachusetts residents Henry B. Bailey and Larkin Trull. Bailey, who was involved with the Boston and Lowell Railroad, helped talk railroad magnate Henry Flagler into running the railroad spur into San Mateo. Bailey was a broker for citrus grown in the area and both shipping and packing of citrus occurred in close proximity to Ferncourt.

Ferncourt was the center of social activity in San Mateo with a large third floor ballroom, perfect for formal dances and spectacular parties, plus it had the area's only tennis courts. The elegant mansion even hosted President and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt in 1905.

After World War II, Ferncourt was divided into several apartments and later became a retirement home. After more than a decade of sitting vacant the Victorian beauty was restored in 1989 by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Morgan. It was most recently a bed and breakfast, (see photos below), but it is currently for sale. Anyone out there wanting a 7 bedroom, 9 bathroom piece of Old Florida history should jump on this opportunity!

Much thanks to our Florida Road Trip guide Phil Eschbach and Amanda Baird Schmidt for their assistance in creating this post.

Historic Crossing: The Fort Gates Ferry

The opportunity was too good to pass up: a two and a half day road trip with Florida history expert Phil Eschbach and Authentic Florida's Robin Draper. I've not had much time to explore the state I love during my home renovation, so I decided to join my friends at the Ft. Gates Ferry in Welaka on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Although the Ft. Gates Ferry is just a few miles from where I spent much of my childhood, (we had a weekend place in Welaka), I'd never made the journey on its deck across the St. Johns River. Originating from a small fish camp west of Crescent City, the ferry can take two cars at a time and is powered by wonderful vintage watercraft dubbed the "Too Wendy." The fee is $10 a vehicle, but the trip not only takes you across the river, but back in time as well.  The ferry at this location was first put into use to transport troops across the river in the Seminole Indian Wars almost 200 years ago. Florida's oldest ferry, it is also the only ferry in the state that is privately operated. Word has it that major modifications to the facilities surrounding the ferry are in the near future, including paving the long dirt road through the Ocala National Forest on the west side of the ferry's route. Coming in from Crescent City on the east side, I noticed a huge housing development that didn't exist just a few years ago. 

Robin snaps pictures while the ferryman raises the ramp.

The small fish camp from where the ferry departs is real Old Florida.

A houseboat anchored on the western shore.

With Southern Gospel music blaring on a boom box, Sunday service for these folks was on the banks of the mighty St. Johns...

Collecting payment at the journey's end.

The Two Wendy is connected to the barge via a trailer hitch, which allows it to rotate 180 degrees so it can make the journey in both directions.

We were told that this dirt road on the western shore is to be paved.

The ferry landed us near Salt Springs, another place I had not been since I was a kid, but we didn't stop. I hope to return again soon. Although the ferry is really just a way to transport you from one side of the river to the next, it in itself is a remarkable destination.