Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Side 1: This Federal-style building was constructed in 1844 by Richard A. Shine, a prominent builder and mason who constructed the south wing of Florida’s Capitol in 1845. In 1881, Mary C. Bloxham, Governor Bloxham’s wife, acquired the property. Governor Bloxham, the owner of a plantation west of Tallahassee, used the house as a town residence during his two terms as governor, 1881-1885 and 1897-1901. The house was used by Governor Edward A. Perry, 1885-1889. In 1911, when Governor Bloxham died, Gertrude M. Bloxham, his second wife, became its owner and in 1913 sold it. A number of ownerships and uses followed, including as a rooming house and hotel. In 1977, the Florida Heritage Foundation purchased the property and developed plans for restoration of the house, but was unable to raise sufficient funds. In 1979, one of its members, Frances Cushing Ervin, purchased the property and restored the house to its original architectural style and elegance. Side 2: Governor Bloxham’s career of public service was extensive and included representing Leon County in the Florida House of Representatives, serving as Florida’s Secretary of State and Comptroller and as United States Surveyor-General for Florida. He was a popular war veteran, having organized an infantry company in Leon County in 1862 and served as its commander throughout the Civil War. Governor Bloxham, Florida’s first native-born governor, is remembered for founding the Florida Normal and Agricultural College for Colored Students, now Florida A & M University, and for restoring to fiscal solvency Florida’s Internal Improvement Trust Fund by selling four million acres in the Everglades. He was governor during the Spanish-American War when Florida served as a principle staging area and its ports were major embarkation points for United States military activities in Cuba.