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.

The Ferreira House – A Home With History

The Ferreira home, 510 Beech St., was built in 1873 during the so-called Golden Age of Amelia Island. It sits on a generously sized lot and features a distinctive wrap-around porch and decorative railings. It was built by John A. Ferreira, an engineer for the Florida Railroad. The Florida Railroad, developed by David Yulee, was the first railroad to connect Florida's east and west coasts, running from Fernandina to Cedar Key. It employed many Fernandina residents.

In 1853, the Florida Legislature chartered the Florida Railroad to build a rail line to Tampa with a branch to Cedar Key. Yulee, the president and chief stockholder of the Florida Railroad, opted to complete the line to Cedar Key first. By 1858, the railroad was open, but a financial panic in 1857 forced Yulee to surrender his majority interest. During the Civil War, Union attacks destroyed sections of Florida's railroads, and Florida's Confederate government temporarily removed tracks to prevent Union troops from using them. The Ferreira family, like many others in Fernandina, were tied to the railroad before, during, and after the Civil War.

Ferreira purchased two lots on Beech Street in 1873 and constructed a home. The land on which the house is built was part of an original Spanish land grant acquired by Domingo Fernandez, a ship captain and planter. After the United States acquired Florida in 1821, Domingo Fernandez's heirs sold the land grants to David Levy Yulee, who then used the land for the Florida Railroad.

The historic district offers a variety of one-of-a-kind home styles, like the Ferreira house. It is of simple design and more cottage-like, in sharp contrast to the more elaborate Victorian-era homes like the Bailey and Fairbanks homes. Most houses built at that time were vernacular, meaning they were not necessarily designed by an architect but rather resulted from the ideas and talents of their owners and builders.

The house is a one-and-a-half-story frame design, noteworthy for its gable returns, transom over the entrance, arched glazed panels in the door, and wide, welcoming open porch. The front door, much of the glass in the house, and the wide-cut heart pine floors are original.

A Ferreira daughter married a Sturges, and five generations of Sturgeses lived in the house, adding additions and making changes through the years. The Sturges family owned the home for over 100 years. The Ferreira family opened the first grocery store on the island on the lot adjoining the home. The grocery store closed in the mid-1980s. At one time, a well-known artist, Molly Mabe, lived in the house and used the outbuilding as a studio.

Each of the homes in Fernandina Beach's Historic District has a story. Many built in the late 1880s and early 1900s reflect the time in the island's history when the economy was strong and impressive homes could be built. Some, like the Ferreira house, remained in the family for many generations.

This is one of many homes featured in the book Great Homes & Churches of Amelia Island, available at Story & Song Bookstore and Bistro, and the Amelia Island Museum of History.

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