Game, Set, Watch

Gainesville: A City Frozen in Time

Story and Photos by Bryanna Basillio

Once upon a time, a Timucuan village thrived on what is present-day Gainesville, according to Historic Gainesville Inc. In 1824, after Florida was annexed to the United States, Alachua County was created with Newsnansville. It wasn’t until 1853 Alachua County residents voted to create a new town on the railroad line and thus, Gainesville was born, bearing its name from Seminole War General Edmund P. Gaines.

Only a month into new cityhood, a cotton plantation owner and former county treasurer, Maj. James B. Bailey, sold over 60 acres of his land to be used for the new city.

The book “Historic Gainesville: A Tour Guide to the Past” by John B. Pickard explains that Bailey’s home was built through slave labor and constructed from the lumber cut from his land, according to Historic Gainesville Inc.

Pickard regards the Bailey house as “one of the oldest remaining houses in Gainesville,” and adds “the frame vernacular residence reflects the characteristics typical of mid-19th century plantation buildings.” It would serve as an example of Gainesville’s early plantation architecture known as antebellum.

The James B. Bailey house is only one of several historical buildings in Gainesville with national historical landmark status and an interesting past.

If Walls Could Talk

In 1856, the Haile family from Camden, South Carolina established a 1,500-acre Sea Island cotton plantation, which they named “Kanapaha,” meaning “small thatched houses.” According to the Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation website, the Haile Homestead was the home of Thomas Evans Haile, his wife Esther Serena Chesnut Haile and 14 of their children.

The Hailes brought along 56 slaves from South Carolina to work on the plantation. The same year, enslaved black craftsmen completed the 6,200-square-foot manse. The number of slaves increased in 1966 to at least 66. They lived in 18 small one-room frame houses on the property.

According to the Alachua Conservation Trust, the surviving Haile family partnered with the trust in the 1980s to restore the family house on the property. The Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation was turned into a museum thereafter. The descendants of the Haile family still retain ownership, and at least 40 acres of land was donated to the Alachua Conservation Trust.

On the website, it notes the biggest attraction is “the talking walls.” The website further explains that the Hailes had a habit of writing on the walls; altogether over 12,500 words and artwork is etched in every room, including the closets.

“The oldest writing dates back to the 1850s,” said Karen Kirkman, president and historian at the Historic Haile Homestead. “The tour lets you explore the thousands of living histories throughout the house. We also have a number of exhibits in our Allen and Graham Visitors Center.”

Kirkman said the guests are shown two videos while they wait for their tour to begin. Both focus on how the Haile Plantation slaves came to be and their enslavement to freedom.

“It’s a brutally honest narrative about enslaved people, not just on the Haile Plantation but in Alachua County in general,” she said. “We talk about the lynchings throughout Alachua County and the contribution of enslaved people. It’s the truth and it may make people uncomfortable, but we need to understand the past to go forward and heal from that.”

Most compelling is how the museum historians have connected with African American descendants of the slaves that worked on the property. Kirkman says they reach out wanting to know about their ancestors and the historians provide as much information as they can.

“There are quite a few families now that we’ve worked with,” she said.

Guests can visit the Historic Haile Homestead for $5 on weekends and learn about the economic, cultural and social issues in this setting.

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A Home Frozen in Time

The Visit Gainesville Alachua County Visitors & Convention Bureau lists the Matheson House as a historic site for tourists to learn about Gainesville and Alachua County. The Matheson House was built in 1867 by the Mathesons, another family from South Carolina. Not only is the home old, but it is unique for its time.

American Heritage magazine describes the home as a “blend of South Carolina plantation and classic revivalraised cottage architecture with gothic elements in its roof and stairway. The period furniture and personal possessions are a testament to the Mathesons’ family history and Gainesville itself.”

Opening as a museum in 1994, renovating and maintaining the property has been a challenge.

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“We’re an independent nonprofit, so funding is always a challenge for us,” said Kaitlyn Hof-Mahoney, curator of collections at Matheson History Museum. “We rely on our membership and donations and grant funding to help us maintain and repair the four historic buildings that are part of the museum complex.”

Hof-Mahoney said there are four historic buildings on the Matheson site.

“There’s the original 1867 Matheson house, the main museum building which housed the former American Legion Hall, the library and archives building — which used to be the Gainesville Gospel Tabernacle — and the Tyson Tool Barn.”

All four properties make up the Matheson History Museum Complex, and visitors can book a tour to visit the house and the other exhibits and learn about Alachua County’s history.

The UF Footprint

Of course, Gainesville’s historical landmarks can’t be discussed without mentioning the University of Florida. UF has at least 20 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and even has a historical district on campus that encompasses approximately 650 acres and contains 11 listed buildings, plus contributing properties.

The UF Architecture Archives states that the historic buildings were designed by architects William A. Edwards from 1905 to 1924 and Rudolph Weaver from 1925 to 1939 in the Collegiate Gothic style. The landscape plan was developed in 1926 by Olmsted Brothers, the firm that designed New York City's Central Park.

The One-Room School

Eight miles northwest of downtown Gainesville sits a decrepit, wooden house with a hidden history. According to the National Register of Historical Places, the Liberty Hill Schoolhouse is a one-room school measuring 24.5 feet by 30.5 feet, built by the Alachua County School Board in 1892. The present schoolhouse replaced the original Liberty Hill School, which was in operation as early as 1869 as a rural elementary school for African American children. Although vacant, the school retains its historic appearance and character. The only one-room schoolhouse in the county is still on its original site and served generations of African American pupils from primary to sixth or seventh grade until it was closed by the school board in the early 1950s.

The school contributes to the sense of time, place and historical development through its location, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.

Murray D. Laurie, a historic preservation planner, has called the schoolhouse, “historically significant for its 129-year association with education and its importance to the cultural heritage of the African American community in Gainesville.”

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The Victorian Home Turned Bed-and-Breakfast

If you have ever driven down University Avenue past the Alachua County Library, you’ve probably seen the historic big, blue three-story home. It stands out among all other homes with its magnificent Queen Anne-style Victorian architecture. Once known as the “Mary Phifer McKenzie House,” guests can now spend the night at this national historic landmark. Now the Sweetwater Branch Inn Bed & Breakfast, the mansion was built in 1895 and was sold to William Turner Pound, the first husband of Mary Phifer. Phifer would then go on to marry Reid Hill McKenzie in the 1920s, hence the namesake. She lived in the home until she was 83 years old, according to Cornelia Holbrook, now the owner of the Sweetwater Branch Inn.

“Since it was built, the home has been celebrated,” she said.

The home has architectural beauty, adds author Pickard, “It has intricate Eastlake details and a fanciful restored massing. There three-story octagonal turrets on the west face, and the wrap-around veranda which culminate in an octagonal gazebo.”

“The Sweetwater Inn property is two restored Victorian-era mansions,” Holbrook said. It consists of the McKenzie House and the Cushman-Colson House.

“The house is named after the Cushman family who lived in the house until 1905 and the family of Dr. James Colson, who lived there for 20 years,” she said. “My parents bought the home in 1978 and restored it. I opened it as an inn 28 years ago.”

On the website, guests can book a room in one of the two mansions or a cottage. The McKenzie House has five guest rooms while the Cushman-Colson House has seven. There are 12 guest cottages, a reception hall and sculptured gardens.

Holbrook also points out guests don’t need be overnight patrons to visit.

“We have Easter and Mother’s Day brunches by reservation, ‘Mary’s High Tea,’ romantic dinners,” she said. “We do family meals and personal events like retreats of all kinds. We try to do a lot of community things.”

The inn will hold “Yoga in the Garden” every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the McKenzie Gardens, which will also be open to the public.

The timeless buildings speak for old Gainesville. They proclaim, “We’re more than just a university town. We’re more than just college life and football. We’ve always been here and aren’t going anywhere.”

Gainesville Architecture: Our Past Is Our Present

Story and Photos by Bryanna Basillio

There is something unique about Gainesville; maybe it’s the small-town feel, or the big-city amenities or maybe it’s the college town liveliness intertwined with an abundance of nature. It’s a charming place that is home to Florida’s flagship university. Gainesville and the University of Florida are partners in their joint, rich history. You can see this history present itself in the architecture on campus and throughout Gainesville. While many new, student-living apartments tower over streets and typically look modern, there are plenty of buildings and structures throughout the city that remain loyal to history.

Collegiate Gothic

The University of Florida is undeniably distinct with its Collegiate Gothic style. Schenkelshultz Architecture characterized the design as “red brick, clay roofing tile, limestone and white-painted wood.” This red-brick style has spread to some homes off campus, such as Lyons Corner Apartments near UF.

Cracker Style

The wood-framed, cracker-style homes are the oldest in Gainesville, dating back to the 1840s.

“They typically feature wide porches and steep roofs that work as passive cooling systems,” said Charles W. Arnade of The Florida Historical Quarterly. “The most distinguishing feature is the long extending roof. These types of homes were very affordable to build. The respectable wood frame houses on Florida's plantations could be erected for pounds sterling 100 or less. They were more practical and popular at the time.”

Victorian-Style Homes Turned Bed-andBreakfast

The McKenzie house, built in 1895, is one of Gainesville's most elaborate Queen Anne residences — a 2 ½ story structure with shingles and horizontal siding, a polygonal tower, projecting gable at entry and a one-story gazebo attached. It now operates as the Sweetwater Branch Inn Bed & Breakfast.

There is also the Swearingen House, built in 1903, which is another beautiful Queen Anne-style house that operates as a bed-and-breakfast known as Camellia Rose Inn.

Craftsman

Craftsman-style homes date back to about 1900 to 1930.

Antique Homes Magazines describes them as, “small, usually 1 ½ stories under a broad sweeping roof resting on squat porch posts. The roof overhung on all sides and the eaves were often supported by undecorated brackets or showed exposed rafter ends. The roof was usually fronted with a large gable or shed dormer.”

Craftsman homes are both old and new throughout Gainesville. There are several new Craftsman-style communities for students such as The Craftsman Luxury Townhomes by Circa Properties, Ashton Lane Luxury Apartments Phase II by Trimark Properties and Carver’s Corner and Rosemary Square by Eastwood Homes LLC. It never seems to go out of style. Last but not least is the Baird Mansion. Built in 1885, its architecture style is Victorian — more specifically, French Second Empire. This style is characterized by the mansard roof and the tall frontal tower.

The house retains its original red and green slate roof, which is another characteristic of the style. It, of course, also operates as a bed-and-breakfast known as The Magnolia Plantation.

It seems Gainesville is more than happy to share its Victorian mansions.

Whether a building is styled in Victorian, Craftsman, Mediterranean, Colonial, plantation, modern, cottage or farmhouse, Gainesville’s architectural diversity allows each home to tell a unique story.