Historical Homes of Lake County

  HISTORIC LAKE COUNTY HOMES Part 2: The Eustis House Moses Built (1883)   116 Diedrich Street, Eustis, Florida Eustis, as an official town name, was still evolving 137 years ago when the home pictured above was built on 160 acres overlooking little Lake Dot . Surrounded by citrus trees in the 1880s, this circa 1883 historic residence is known as the Moses J. Taylor House , 116 Diedrich Street, Eustis, Florida. Some believe the construction occurred in 1881 , but deeds reflect that Annie (Barrington) Taylor purchased the property March 19, 1883 . And a letter from Moses J. Taylor, Jr., in which he tells of recently selling land on Crooked Lake , “ on which are my house and other buildings ”, suggests an 1883 date may be more accurate. Moses J. Taylor, Jr., said Webb’s 1885 Historical publication, was one of four prominent Eustis residents. Another prominent local was John A. MacDonald , a Civil Engineer and land agent who, together with Taylor, conceived of the idea of marke

  HISTORIC LAKE COUNTY HOMES Part 1: The Brock & Fisher Residence (1900)   County Road 439, Seneca, Florida   If hundred-year old residence walls could speak, imagine the spellbinding stories we would learn about central Florida’s history. Inanimate walls however remain silent throughout the passing of decades, and so we can look instead to deeds, and other sources, to learn of the extraordinary men and women who, in the 19 th century, migrated to Florida’s Citrus-Belt and built some of Lake County’s earliest homeplaces – some of which are still standing today. Learning of such amazing pioneers is the mission of this blog series – an undertaking that will include writing of the bravest of brave pioneers – men and women - pioneers who played a role in helping to tame a remote wilderness, and while doing so, left behind a memorial in the form of their own personal homeplaces. The Brock & Fisher Residence is one such homeplace. Today, dozens of vehicles pass by this hist