There's precious few preservationists among the moneyed Floridians. More often than not, historic homes and irreplaceable natural features are bulldozed and dredged for the sake of ticky-tack boxes and all-white gleaming cube mansions.
That is to say, this 1884 Queen Anne along Lake Cherokee would be a stunner just for making it this far. But the little preserved details and impeccable upkeep have made the so-called O'Neal Home a true marvel.
The house along what used to be known as Honeymoon Row got its name from one of its most-famous residents: William Russel O'Neal. As was common for leading men of business in his era, O'Neal had irons in just about every fire in town. He was a bookstore owner, a banker, an acting mayor, a city council president, a postmaster and a Rollins College trustee.
O'Neal was also a columnist, who wrote regular dispatches on the city of Orlando's early history. Perhaps most notably, O'Neal was a Republican who rankled local racists ahead of a charged election that ended in race riots and the Ocoee Massacre. The leader of the local Ku Klux Klan sent O'Neal a letter warning him against helping with get-out-the-vote operations in Orlando's black community.
"And now if you are a scholar, you know that history repeats itself, and that he who resorts to your kind of game is handling edged tools," the threatening letter read.
Back in the present, O'Neal's former home still boasts parlors, libraries and other rooms that have changed little in the intervening years (beyond coats of paint where there was almost certainly wallpaper). The 5-bed, 7-bath house is represented by Steven Schiffer of Olde Town Realtors. The asking price is $1.95 million.
Photos via Zillow.
