Architectural Treasures of Amelia Island

Architectural Treasures of Amelia Island

Amelia Island offers a unique opportunity to experience history. Fernandina Beach's Historic District is a living museum. Like sleeping beauties, the island's Victorian-era homes have been frozen in time. Each offers a story about the people and events that shaped the history of Florida's northernmost barrier island.

Eppes House — Classic Victorian Historic District Home with a Ghost

Built in the late 1800s, the Eppes house fits neatly on its corner of Ash and 10th streets in Fernandina’s Historic District, where architecture ranges from Victorian grand mansions to modest vernacular houses. It was built by James Bell, a shipbuilder on the island, who constructed many island houses when not building ships.

The Eppes house is typical of the houses built in the era, a practical design with Victorian era details including “jig saw” cut trim, brackets and balustrades. It is a two-story frame house with two-story end porches, transomed entrances, bay windows, and arched glazed panels in the front door. The carpenter-crafted detail was designed to reflect the homeowner's vocation: land surveyors. You can see two kinds of plumb bobs and a compass.

In 2008, the house, badly in need of restoration, was purchased by an island couple who restored it to its original beauty. At the time of purchase, paint was peeling and windows were missing, but the quality of the original building and materials used made restoration possible.

The first owner of the house, Thomas Jefferson Eppes, was a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson and well respected in the community. In the early 1880s, Eppes was living and working in Fernandina Beach, a lively railroad and port town, after the Civil War. Eppes was a conductor for the Transit Peninsular Railroad. He was married to Celeste, described as spirited, unconventional, and not well-liked in the community.

In 1880, Eppes, a young newlywed, shocked and scandalized the community. He shot and mortally wounded Major F. C. Suhrer, the manager of the Mansion House, a popular hotel on the island. Celeste had told him about advances Suhrer made toward her when she was boarding at Mansion House. Suhrer was well-liked in the community and left a widow and six children. As it turned out, Celeste had fabricated the story to make her husband jealous. Considering the circumstances, the judge and jury acquitted Eppes when the truth was known.

Many houses in the Historic District have ghosts. Homeowners do not feel threatened as they are confident the ghosts are harmless and just have some unfinished business. The Eppes house is known as much for its ghost as its architectural value. A persistent ghost story has Celeste Eppes still wandering the halls of the 10th Street house, lamenting the tragic murder and her part in it. Over the years, stories persist of a ghost wandering through the house.