Brokaw-McDougall House

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Brokaw-McDougall House was built between 1856 and 1860 for Peres Bonney Brokaw, who moved to Tallahassee from New Jersey in 1850. Brokaw operated a livery stable and served in the Confederate Cavalry during the Civil War. The house ownership descended to Brokaw's daughter, Phoebe, who married Alexander McDougall. After Phoebe's death, Alexander married her younger sister, Eliza. The house stayed in the same family for 120 years before being sold to the State of Florida. The Brokaw-McDougall House is the location of offices of the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation (formerly the Historic Tallahassee Preservation Board). The house also is the location of meetings, but is not set up as a museum. The two-story, wood frame house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 for its remarkably well preserved Greek Revival style architecture.

Images

Front (west) facade of Brokaw-McDougall House in 1971, from NRHP nomination (Evans 1971)

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Peres B. Brokaw owned thousands of dollars worth of real estate by 1860; the 46-year-old livery stable keeper's real estate was valued at $8,000 and personal property at $10,000. He shared his home in Tallahassee with his wife, C.O. (only 25 years old), son Abraham (3), and daughter "Pheoba" (1). Mrs. Brokaw and the children were Florida natives. The Brokaw family grew to three children of Peres and Elizabeth A. (36) by 1870, with daughter Eliza (9). Mr. Brokaw was even wealthier than before the Civil War; the planter and livery stable keeper owned real estate worth $25.000 and $5,000 in personal property.

Phoebe Brokaw (21) married Alexander McDougall by 1880; the couple lived in Tallahassee, reportedly at the former Brokaw House on Virginia Avenue (the house is on the corner with N. Meridian), with their infant daugher, Elisa. Mr. McDougall (28), a factory manager, was a native of Scotland. Alexander McDougall emigrated to the U.S. in 1876 and was a naturalized citizen by 1900. Phoebe Brokaw died in 1883 or 1884 after having two more children: Mary in 1880 and John in 1883. Mr. McDougall remarried in December 1884 to Eliza Brokaw, Phoebe's 25-year-old sister. Alexander McDougall sold a building on four lots to the City of Tallahassee in 1886 that became the city's Market House.

The McDougall household grew by 1900 to include two more children: Peres (12), and Abram C. (10). Alexander (46) worked as a deputy postmaster in 1900 and also shared his home with his brother, John (55), a postmaster who emigrated from Scotland in 1870. In 1914, Peres Brokaw McDougall married Emma Trammell, the sister of the Florida Governor; the ceremony was held in the Governor's mansion. Alexander McDougall (70) lived in a house he owned in 1920, with his wife, Eliza (59). Neither had occupations and no other residents were listed in the census records. Alexander worked as a bookkeeper for Levy brothers in 1925; he and Eliza lived in the house at the corner of N. Meridian and Virginia. Alexander and Eliza McDougall last appeared in a Tallahassee city directory in 1936; they still resided in the former Brokaw House at 321 N. Meridian.

Fourteen-foot tall ceilings with decorative plasterwork are just one of the impressive features of the Brokaw-McDougall House; bronze chandeliers and floor to ceiling windows help complete the look. The mansion's original gas light fixtures have been restored and rewired for electric light. The second-story balcony and square cupola allow for views out over the landscaped grounds with live oaks. The house was once on a property of hundreds of acres, called McDougall's Pasture; by the early 1970s, the house was on a two-acre lot.

Sources

Anonymous. "Hymeneal." The Weekly Floridian (Tallahassee, FL) December 9th 1884. 3-3.

Anonymous. "In Society." Lakeland Evening Telegram (Lakeland, FL) July 10th 1914. 4-4.

Carlisle, Rodney. Carlisle, Loretta. Tallahassee in History: A Guide to more than 100 Sites in Historical Context. Lanham, MD. Rowman and Littllefield, 2020.

Evans, Mary K.. NRHP Nomination of Brokaw-McDougall House. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1971.

R.L. Polk & Co.. Polk's Tallahassee City Directory 1925. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Co., 1925.

R.L. Polk & Co.. Polk's Tallahassee City Directory 1936. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Co., 1936.

US Census. Household of P.B. Brokaw in Tallahassee, Florida, Dwelling 162, Family 162. Washington, DC. US Government, 1860.

US Census. Household of Perez B. Brokaw in Tallahassee, Florida Subdivision 22, Dwelling 1, Family 1. Washington, DC. US Government, 1870.

US Census. Household of A. McDougal in Tallahassee, Florida Precinct 12, Dwelling 5, Family 5. Washington, DC. US Government, 1880.

US Census. Household of A. McDougal in Tallahassee, Florida District 86, Dwelling 356, Family 388. Washington, DC. US Government, 1900.

US Census. Household of Alexander McDougal in Tallahassee Enumeration District 107, Dwelling 94, Family 127. Washington, DC. US Government, 1920.

Walker, G. W.. "An Ordinance." The Weekly Floridian (Tallahassee, FL) August 26th 1886. 3-3.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/1195e790-0852-4f1b-9252-56a7d298974f