Chinsegut Hill Manor House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Chinsegut Hill Manor House
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | Hernando County, Florida |
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| Nearest city | Brooksville |
| Built | 1847-1925 |
| Architectural style | Frame Vernacular |
| NRHP reference No. | 03001171 |
| Added to NRHP | November 21, 2003 |
The Chinsegut Hill Manor House is a historic place in the United States. It is about five miles northeast of Brooksville, Florida, on Chinsegut Hill. People also know it as Mount Airy, Snow Hill, or simply The Hill. The house started being built in the early 1850s and has stayed mostly the same since then.
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History of Chinsegut Hill
After the Second Seminole War ended in 1842, and a new law called the Armed Occupation Act was passed, Florida changed a lot. Before this, there were no white settlements in the middle of Florida. But soon, many large farms called plantations were built. By the time Florida became a state, many people believed that almost half of the people and wealth in central Florida came from these plantations.
Colonel Byrd Pearson from South Carolina was one of the people who came to central Florida because of the new law. He claimed 160 acres in what is now Hernando County. He named his plantation Mount Airy. He grew sugarcane using the labor of enslaved people. Colonel Pearson built a cabin on this land, which is now the East Wing of the Manor House. His cabin was finished just two years after Florida became a state.
In 1851, Colonel Pearson sold the property to Francis Higgins Ederington, who also came from South Carolina. Ederington kept the name Mount Airy. Between 1852 and 1854, he built the main manor house.
In 1866, Colonel Russel Snow, another person from South Carolina, married Francis Ederington's daughter, Charlotte. He then took control of the plantation and renamed it Snow Hill. The Snow family changed the third-floor attic into three bedrooms and a sitting area.
The Ederington and Snow Families
In 1851, Francis Ederington and Anderson Mayo, both from South Carolina, visited Hernando County. They were very impressed with the area. Francis Ederington bought the property from Colonel Byrd Pearson, which is now known as Chinsegut Hill.
In 1852, Francis Ederington and his family moved from South Carolina to Florida. They brought their animals, farm tools, household items, and enslaved people with them. They settled on the hill and named it Mount Airy. Colonel Pearson had built a small home there, which Francis Ederington made much larger. At first, they mainly grew sugar cane, cotton, and corn. Later, they also grew citrus fruits and raised livestock. They also harvested timber from the land.
In 1895, a very cold weather event called the Great Freeze hit Florida. Many citrus groves were destroyed. However, some trees on top of Mount Airy/Snow Hill survived. These trees were used to help new citrus groves grow again in Florida. Many people believe this is the oldest house still standing in Hernando County.
Francis Ederington had a large family with seven daughters and two sons. Many of their descendants still live in and around Hernando County today. Francis Ederington was also part of the old Guards Mounted Rangers during the American Civil War.
Charlotte Ederington, one of Francis's daughters, married Dr. James R. Snow from South Carolina. Dr. J.R. Snow first came to Hernando County in 1861. He left that same year to fight in the Civil War. Charlotte and J.R. bought the property from her sisters and renamed it Snow Hill. Dr. J.R. Snow even practiced dentistry in the Manor House.
Many of Charlotte and J.R.'s descendants also live in Hernando County today. Ernest Winfield Snow, their grandson, had 18 children with two wives. All of his children were born in the Manor House on Snow Hill. Ernest Snow's family was the last Snow family to live in the manor house. They moved to a larger estate after a hurricane. Many of Ernest Snow's children became important business and community leaders in Hernando County. For example, Eugene Snow ran one of Brooksville's oldest companies, Snow's Lumber Yard. Arthur L. "Roy" Snow was a captain in World War II and the Korean War, earning several awards for his bravery. He later served as a county commissioner.
Five generations of the Ederington and Snow families were born on Mount Airy/Snow Hill, and six generations lived there.
The Robins’ Era
The time when Elizabeth, Raymond, and Margaret Robins owned the Chinsegut Hill manor house was very important. Elizabeth bought the home for herself and her youngest brother, Raymond. But before they moved in, Raymond met and married Margaret Dreier.
When they bought the property in 1904, Raymond and Elizabeth renamed it Chinsegut Hill. They worked to improve the land and the house. Over the years, Raymond and Margaret added a kitchen, a special rooftop area called a widow's walk, a new chimney, a bigger study, and a music room. Later, they added four bathrooms in 1911 and bought more land in 1917. In 1925, they added a covered entrance for carriages called a porte-cochere. By 1933, they added a fifth bathroom, electricity, and a well.
The Robins family also made the property historically important through their involvement in politics. Raymond Robins was an advisor to seven U.S. Presidents, from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the Russian Revolution, President Wilson sent Raymond to Russia as the head of the American Red Cross Mission. There, he met with important Russian leaders like Alexander Kerensky, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin. Raymond was the only American at that time to meet with Lenin, and he did so four times a week for five months.
Margaret Robins was the president of the Women's Trade Union League for 18 years. She even had dinner with President Calvin Coolidge in 1923. In 1928, Raymond was present when the Pact of Paris was signed, which was an agreement to avoid war. He also helped plan the presidential campaign for Herbert Hoover.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 caused the Robins family to lose most of their money. They chose to give almost $250,000 to keep the First National Bank in Brooksville from closing. Raymond used his connections with President Herbert Hoover to make a deal. He donated the Chinsegut Hill estate to the government. The agreement was that he and Margaret could live there until they died, without paying property taxes.
Margaret Robins passed away in 1945 after a long illness. Raymond Robins continued to be involved in politics for several years after his wife's death. He died in 1954. That same year, the University of Florida leased the property for four years. They planned to use it as a branch library for Raymond Robins' collection of 8,000 books.
Famous Guests of Chinsegut Hill
While the Robins family lived at Chinsegut Hill, they hosted many famous guests. These included ambassadors from the Soviet Union, Helen Keller, Jane Addams, William Jennings Bryan, Thomas Edison, James Cash Penney, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Senator Claude Pepper, and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes.
Recent Events and Expansion
In 1958, the University of Florida's lease ended. The university removed the books from the manor house and left the property. In the same year, the University of South Florida (USF) took over the manor house and the land around it. They signed a four-year lease, just like the University of Florida had done.
Under the University of South Florida, the Chinsegut Hill manor house was changed and updated. USF wanted to use the site as a conference center. In 1962, the university signed a 20-year lease. Since then, they have spent a lot of time and money to protect and restore the property. Some changes to the manor house included removing the widow's walk in 1963 because of rain leaks. They also built several cabins in 1972 and the 1990s, a dining room in 1982, a classroom in 1986, a maintenance shop in 1986, and a storage shed in 1990.
In 1982, the U.S. Department of Agriculture officially gave the Chinsegut Hill property to the University of South Florida. This happened after the previous lease ended and the university had met all its agreements.
On November 21, 2003, Chinsegut Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. This was thanks to the hard work of professors at the University of South Florida. In 2008, the University returned the property to the State of Florida. At that time, a non-profit group called The Friends of Chinsegut Hill, Inc. was formed. Their goal was to save the property and the old Manor House, which was falling apart. The Friends group managed a $1.5 million renovation. Since 2015, they have been running the Manor as a museum. They also rent out the seven cottages on the property to groups and individuals to help fund their efforts.
Images for kids
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Historical marker
