WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT
1848 - 1920 HISTORY of WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE
By Roz Foster
CLICK to read this
article.
MEMBERS & VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Docents dressed in period costume to lead house tours, provide service for teas, and to
participate in special events and exhibits - training provided. Manpower to help in moving
furniture, setting up special events & exhibits, working in gift shop, gardens, etc.
Information: 321-607-0203
thepritchardhouse@yahoo.com
PRINT & SHARE FLYER
You can now post a review for the historic Pritchard House.
Go to Trip Advisor Titusville, FL and click on 'things to
do."
Trip Advisor has awarded the Pritchard House their Certificate of
Excellence!
Detailed
article in the Fall/Winter 2009 edition of The Indian River Journal
RENTAL FOR MEETINGS/PRIVATE PARTIES & EVENTS
The Pritchard House is available to rent for meetings, parties, teas, dinner parties,
weddings and special events, and may be set up in the dining room, parlor, on the porch or
in our beautiful garden areas. For rental information please call 321-607-0203 or email thepritchardhouse@yahool.com
ARTIFACTS &
COLLECTIONS
Our extensive collections include antique furniture and accessories, housewares, china &
glassware, tin ware, paintings, lighting fixtures, house wares and dishes, and children's
and women's clothing and hats dating back to 1880's. During the month of March we
celebrate "Florida Women's History Month" with a display of women's vintage clothing, hats
and accessories throughout the house. We also have a collection of over 300 pieces of
linens including crochet, embroidery, appliqué, needlepoint, quilting, hairpin lace
and tatting. A "bed turning" takes place in June, when we change the bed linens, dollies
and dresser sets to lighter "summer" and again in September, when we change them to
heavier "winter."
North Brevard
Heritage Foundation, Inc.
A non-profit (501 c3) organization
P.O. Box 653 Titusville, FL 32781
www.PritchardHouse.com
GIFT SHOP
Azealas
Calamondin oranges
Click on picture to enlarge.
They open in a new window.
The Pritchard House has been granted
all 4 major historic designations: National Register, Florida State Historical Marker,
Brevard County Heritage Council Plaque, and City of Titusville Historic House
Designation.
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THE HISTORIC PRITCHARD HOUSE
The Pritchard House is an outstanding example of the Queen Anne architecture, a distinctly
American form that was popular from approximately 1876-1910. The house appears today much
as it did when it was built in 1891. The house features a conical corner tower, one of the
key distinguishing aspects of this style. Other characteristics are the wrap-around porch,
accented by its steep gables, veranda and second floor balcony, and fish scale wood
shingles and the jig saw decorative scrollwork. The house is furnished with antique
furniture and accessories. Collections of linens, glassware, housewares, paintings,
vintage women's and children's clothing and accessories, vintage toys and many artifacts
collected on the property are displayed.
Tours conducted by costumed docents may be scheduled daily during the hours of 9:00am -
6:00pm, and are approximately 90 minutes long for a $10 donation per person. Notice of
special events and exhibits are published and priced accordingly and open to the public.
Family History Gardens are open daily for public viewing from 9:00am - dusk. House and
gardens are available to rent for weddings, showers, private parties, luncheons, teas and
meetings. Reservations are required for tours, teas and exhibits. Additional information
or reservations please call our dedicated phone line at 321-607-0203 or email thepritchardhouse@yahoo.com.
THE PRITCHARD HOUSE
BEFORE AND AFTER RESTORATION
FAMILY HISTORY:
James Pritchard was born in New York City on October 21, 1836. The family moved to
Missouri around the time the Civil War began. James enlisted in the Confederate Army and
served as Captain of Company E, First Regiment, Missouri Infantry. His father John. N.
Pritchard served as Colonel in the Union Army. While visiting Galveston, Texas after the
war he met Mary Haley Boye', daughter of Christian and Frances Delespine Boyé of
Key West, Florida. After a three-week courtship, they were married January 17, 1867 and
settled first in Texas and later in Missouri.
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Captain James Pritchard
BIOGRAPHY
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Mary Haley Boyé Pritchard
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The Pritchards and their three children came to Florida in 1876 and settled on acreage
which was a portion of a large tract of land known as the Delespine Grant that had been
passed down from Mary's grandfather, Joseph Delespine. Their settlement, located just
north of today's Highway 50, became known as "Pritchard's Landing" where they grew
sugarcane and citrus. When a hard freeze destroyed most of the crops in 1886, the Captain
turned to selling real estate and moved his family to Titusville where they lived in a
cottage on Palm Ave.
In 1888, Captain Pritchard organized the first bank in Titusville. The bank was
incorporated in 1889 as the Indian River State Bank and located on the northeast corner of
So. Washington Ave. and Julia St. He sold the Bank in 1925 after serving as president for
37 years. In 1928 it fell victim to the Great Depression and closed.
Captain Pritchard built the first electric generating plant in Titusville in 1890. It was
located in a wooden building on the south side of Nevins Court, just across the alley from
the rear of his hardware store. He sold the plant to Southern Utilities in 1914 for
$35,000. Southern Utilities sold it several years later and eventually it became Florida
Power and Light Company. The building gradually deteriorated and eventually was torn down.
THE FAMILY HOME
In June 1891, on a lot purchased from Mary Titus, contractor Pleasant J. Hall began
building the Queen Anne style house of heart pine. The Pritchards moved into their new
home in October 1891. Original occupants of the house were Captain Pritchard and wife
Mary, son "Boud" age 19, youngest daughter Kate age 16, Mary's mother Frances Delespine
Boye', and the family maid Julia Stewart. Daughter Frances Amelia had married Frank T.
Budge in 1889 and they were living in their own house. Frank Budge had owned a hardware
store on Washington Ave. and sold the business to Captain Pritchard and son Boud in 1898,
after moving his family to Miami. It became James Pritchard and Son Hardware and family
members owned and operated the hardware store until it closed in 1981.
In 1913, Boud Pritchard married Lola Pauline Smith (Miss Lovie) and continued to live in
the house with their two children. Their daughter Mary Pauline married Frank Schuster in
1935, and raised their children, James, Johanna and Polly in this house. Captain Pritchard
passed away in 1926 and is buried in the family plot at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens in
Titusville. Pritchard family members continuously lived in the house, with Mary Pritchard
Schuster living there until it was purchased for historic preservation by Brevard County
in May 2005. Brevard County transferred ownership of the house to the City of Titusville
in March 2016.
FAMILY HISTORY GARDENS
These beautiful gardens were sponsored by descendants of early families who settled in
Titusville and North Brevard County. Plaques throughout the gardens record family
histories and stories of the development of the area from commercial fishing to
agriculture and lots in-between. The gardens contain citrus trees & herbs that are used in
food preparation for our teas, native plants, and a variety of flowering trees and plants.
Antique roses have been planted in and around the old cistern. A jasmine covered pergola
provides a lovely shaded area and a place where teas are frequently held. Vintage park
benches are located in several garden areas, and the focal point of the azalea garden is a
beautiful 3-tiered fountain surrounded by benches.
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Several People have asked what is the
name of the beautiful roses on our fence. The name is Peggy Martin Rose, a lone survivor
of hurricane Katrina.
SANBORN INSURANCE MAPS PROVIDE PROOF OF OTHER STRUCTURES ON PROPERTY
Sanborn Insurance Maps were used to provide information about other structures that were
once located on the property. At one time there was a windmill, elevated water tank, a
round cistern and later an oval cistern, and a stable/shed all located on the northwest
side of the property. An outhouse was added about 1908. Pritchard family members indicated
that the oval cistern had a concrete dome over the top. The dome was destroyed in the
1950s by Capt. Pritchard's son "Boud" who knocked it down with a sledge hammer. The broken
concrete fell to the bottom and the cistern was filled in with dirt where "Boud" later
planted a rose garden. Remains of the oval shaped cistern are located near the northwest
corner of the house.
View 4
excerpts from Sanborn Insurance Maps.
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5/1/2012 • Updated: 1/8/2024
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