Pritchard House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Pritchard House
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The Pritchard House in 2007
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 Location in Florida
Location in the United States
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| Location | Titusville, Florida |
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| MPS | Titusville MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89002167 |
| Added to NRHP | January 12, 1990 |
The Pritchard House is a really old and special house in Titusville, Florida. It stands at 424 South Washington Avenue. Because it's so important, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1990. Today, the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners owns the house. A group called the North Brevard Heritage Foundation helps take care of it and runs it.
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The Pritchard Family's Story
James Pritchard was born in New York City in 1839. He served as a soldier during the American Civil War. In December 1866, he met and married Mary Haley Boye. Mary's grandfather left them some land, so the couple moved to Florida. They settled near a place that later became known as Pritchard's Landing.
Captain Pritchard first tried growing sugarcane and citrus fruits. Later, he became involved in selling land. In 1888, he started Titusville's first bank, the Indian River State Bank, and became its president.
In 1891, a builder named Pleasant J. Hall began constructing the Pritchard family's new home on Washington Avenue. James and Mary lived there with their children, Boud and Kate, and Mary's mother, Frances Delespine Boye. Captain Pritchard passed away in 1926 and is buried in Titusville.
His son, Boud, and Boud's wife, Lola Pauline Smith (known as "Miss Lovie"), continued to live in the house until they died. Their daughter, Mary, then lived there until 2005. That year, the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners bought the house.
What Does the Pritchard House Look Like?
The Pritchard House is a two-story house made of wood. It is built in a style called Queen Anne. This style was popular in the late 1800s and often features interesting shapes and decorations. The house is located close to downtown Titusville and has a white picket fence around it.
Unique Architectural Features
The main part of the house has a pointed roof at the front. The outside walls are covered with special wooden shingles that look like fish scales. You can see fancy carved wood decorations on the gables, which are the triangular parts of the roof.
One corner of the house has a round tower with a cone-shaped roof. A two-story porch wraps around the front and side of the house. It has small, simple columns and decorative brackets. There are three large brick chimneys on the roof. The house sits on a foundation made of brick piers, which are like strong brick pillars.
In the late 1800s, many important people in Titusville built Queen Anne-style homes. The Pritchard House is the last one of its kind left on South Washington Avenue.
Bringing the House Back to Life
In 2003, Mary Pritchard Schuster, who owned the house at the time, offered to sell it to Brevard County. Her idea was for the house to be restored and used as a "Living History House Museum." This means visitors could see what life was like in the past.
There were some important rules for the sale:
- The land around the house could not be sold.
- A member of the Pritchard family had to be part of the group running the museum.
- If the house ever stopped being a museum, ownership would go back to the Pritchard family.
The county bought the house and land for $250,000.
The Restoration Process
After Brevard County bought the house in 2005, work began right away. The county spent about $50,000 to start fixing the home. Then, they leased it to the North Brevard Heritage Foundation. This group continued to fix up the house and planned to open it as a museum.
The house needed many repairs. The foundation, which supports the house, had to be made stronger with concrete and special straps to protect against hurricanes. The porch also needed to be rebuilt to look like it did originally.
Inside the house, furniture was repaired, new wallpaper was put up, and painting and flooring were done. In 2005, a team of archaeologists from the Indian River Anthropological Society started digging around the house. They found cool old items like an ink bottle, a perfume bottle, square nails, pieces of pottery, and children's marbles!
A Special Historical Marker
In December 2005, the North Brevard Heritage Foundation put up a special historical marker outside the house. This marker shares interesting facts about the Pritchard House and its history.
It tells us that Captain James Pritchard bought the land from Mary Titus. In 1891, he hired Pleasant J. Hall to build the house using strong pine wood. The house looks much the same today as it did back then.
The marker describes the inside of the house:
- The first floor has a main entrance hall, a staircase, a parlor (living room), and a dining room.
- The kitchen was once separate from the main living area by an open walkway, but it's now enclosed.
- A small stairway goes from the kitchen to the maid's room upstairs.
- The second floor has four bedrooms with closets. Only the main bedroom had access to a balcony.
- A hallway between the main house and the maid's room later became a bathroom. Water for the tub came from a cistern (a tank for collecting rainwater) below.
- The four fireplaces in the house still have their original tiled hearths.
- The light fixture in the entrance hall is also original!
The marker also mentions that James Pritchard started Titusville's first bank in 1888. He also built the first power plant in 1890, which was later sold to Florida Power and Light Co. He even owned a hardware store called James Pritchard and Son. The Pritchard family lived in the house continuously until Brevard County bought it in May 2005.
Visiting the Pritchard House
The Pritchard House opened to the public in December 2010. If you want to visit, you need to make a reservation for a tour. The house can also be rented for special events like weddings, meetings, or private parties.
Throughout the year, the house hosts fun public events. These can include Civil War reenactments, special seating for the Titusville Holiday parade, and other parties.
Images for kids
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Pritchard House in 2007
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The Historic Pritchard House in 2012
