Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Built in 1869, just east of Zellwood, the White House was the winter home of the Harry S. Paul family from Pennsylvania. It was sold in the 1940s to the Sam Coen family corporation, who planted citrus groves. The Libby Company obtained a lease for the property in 1953, and appointed George McClure as the production manager. He lived in the house with his family for most of the 1950s and 1960s. The house then sat vacant for many years, and was believed to be haunted due to the way the wind blew through the broken windows and caused doors to seemingly swing on their own. In 1973, the Cayman Development Corporation purchased the house along with 837 acres for the development of the Zellwood Station mobile home community. The corporation wanted to preserve the house’s old Florida architecture from demolition, and moved the 290-ton building two blocks to its current location. In 1974, at the first Zellwood Sweet Corn Festival, Florida Secretary of Agriculture Doyle Connor spoke to attendees from the front porch. The White House and the surrounding area were purchased by Zellwood Station Cooperative, Inc. in 1993. The building serves as the company’s administrative office and remains a focal point of the community.