Flavius C. Coles Farmhouse

The Coles Farm once covered 42 acres, from South Meridian west to South Adams and from Van Buren Street south to Palmer Avenue. The house acreage was reduced to under one by the mod-1920s. The Coles Farmhouse was on the outskirts of Tallahassee by the early 1990s. The road in front of the farmhouse, Oakland Road, was built in the 1920s. The house was built for Flavius C. Coles, the son of a cotton broker who was born in Leo County in 1855. Coles acquired the 42 acres in several purchases: in 1882, 1884, and 1890. The house was built in preparation for Coles' upcoming marriage to Lula Ruth Rivers in about 1885; this info came from Hattie Coles, a daughter of Flavius and Lula, who was interviewed in the early 1990s.

Besides the farm, where Coles raised cows and chickens and had a large vegetable garden, he operated a store at 230 S. Monroe Street in the early 1900s. Some of the farm's garden vegetables were sold in the store. The local newspaper carried ads for "F.C. Coles Confectioner & Grocer" from 1905 to 1907; the store offered the "choicest and freshest goods at the lowest living prices." The Coles household in 1900 included 45-year-old Flavius, a farmer; his wife "Fannie" [sic] (34 years old); and three daughters: Fannie (12), Anna Lee (9), and Hattie (6 months). Ernest Dick (19), who worked as a clerk (probably in the family's store).

The Coles family's farmland was sold off slowly, beginning in 1902. By 1927, the land was down to five acres and the property was no longer used for agriculture. Hattie Coles worked as a bookkeeper for the family store by 1927. Flavius Coles died in 1927 after suffering a stroke; he had served as Supervisor of Registration for Leon County from 1912 to 1927. Hattie was elected to the position in 1929 and was the first woman to hold the office. Hattie held the office for a record-breaking 36 years. She continued to live in the family farmhouse until selling it in 1988 to William and Kelly Buzzett.

Six live oak and pecan trees that were planted by Lula Coles survived on the property in the early 1990s and were approaching 100 years old. Lula's original formal flower beds in front of the house also survived, as well as many mature camellia and azalea shrubs. In the rear of the house, Lula's formal garden to the rear of the house with pathways had not been restored by the early 1990s but contained some camellias. A white picket fence was added in 1988 surrounding the house, replicating an earlier fence.

A second bathroom was added in the 1920s, according to Hattie Coles; the bathroom is in a hexagonal addition supported on brick piers on the west side of the house, off of the master bedroom. The new owners restored and renovated parts of the farmhouse in 1988. The original house placed the kitchen in the rear of the house, but the renovation moved the kitchen to an adjacent room which had been a bedroom, and turned the old kitchen into a third bedroom. The old kitchen was only accessible from the rear porch, so a new doorway was cut into the new third bedroom.

Buzzett, William. Buzzett, Kelly. Mattick, Barbara E. NRHP Nomination of Flavius C. Coles Farmhouse. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1991.

Coles, F. C. "Advertisement." Weekly True Democrat (Tallahassee, FL) December 15th 1905. 7-7.

Polk & Co., R. L. Polk's Tallahassee Directory 1927-1928 Including Leon County. Jacksonville, FL. R.L. Polk & Company, 1927.

U.S. Census. Household of F.C. Coles in Tallahassee District 88, Leon County, Florida, Dwelling 139, Family 141. Washington, DC. U.S. Government, 1900.