Porcher House

Located in the heart of Brevard County's Cocoa Village, Cocoa's beautiful historic center, the Porcher House is open to the community. Visitors are welcome to explore the preserved home of Edward Porcher as well as its elegant, romantic grounds, often utilized by the surrounding community as a special place for meetings, weddings, private parties, luncheons, afternoon teas and card parties.

Edward Porcher migrated to the Brevard County area as a young man in the late 1800s from his home in South Carolina. After a short stay in the area of Cocoa Florida, he purchased a plot of land on Merritt Island, where he and his wife Byrnina Peck of Atlanta settled down and began to raise citrus fruit and a family. Edward later became very successful with Deerfield Groves. He was a pioneer in the citrus packing industry and is credited with being the first grower to wash, grade and stamp his fruit for shipping. He also invented a machine to wash the fruit, and was a founder of the Indian River Orange Growers Association, Florida's first citrus cooperative. Porcher also served in the organization of the North American Fruit exchange, a national marketing initiative that is still in existence today. In addition to his role in the citrus industry, Edward Porcher also established the first golf course in Cocoa and his wife, Byrnina served as the fisrt post-mistress of Merritt Island. For his contributions to the citrus industry, Edward Porcher was inducted into the Florida citrus Hall of Fame in 1962.

In 1985, the Porchers moved into a 3-story wood frame house, which stood where the Cocoa Civic Center now stands. Finally, when construction was completed in1916, the Porchers moved to this 10 bedroom home located in what is now Cocoa Village. It was crafted from native coquina rock on the exterior and teak, oak and cedar on the interior and designed by Mrs. Porcher herself. It is rumored that she also had stones cut and placed outside of the home to mimic suits of cards, a nod to her love of the game of Bridge. The Porcher House is an excellent example of 20th century classical revival architecture, adapted to the Florida climate. It was home to the Porcher family until the end of the second World War. While many parts of the Porcher House remain original, others are accurate restorations and some are new additions.

The City of Cocoa obtained the home from the Porcher family in the early 1950s. It then became the Cocoa City Hall. Throughout the years, it has also been used as a hotel and a home for boys. Sadly, the Porcher House sat vacant from the years of 1980 to 1988 before it was restored with money from two state grants as well as funding from the City of Cocoa, bringing it into it's current state as a rental facility for special occasions on the first floor and landscaped grounds and an office space on the second floor.

The Porcher House is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

Edward Postell Porcher. (2020, December 11). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://floridacitrushalloffame.com/inductees/edward-postell-porcher/

This website is a great resource of information about Edward Porcher, his career and his history in Brevard County. It also gives mention to the Porcher House and additional details to the story of the man behind the home.

Google maps. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.google.com/maps/@28.3537953,-80.7249802,3a,90y,71.3h,74.54t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAF1QipPoaConNRHtFGY1DmhvAbHRwII7OHMYKsOL_gmV!2e10!3e12!7i1331

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Sherifcl. (2020, July 03). Historic Cocoa Village. Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://mainstreethistory.com/porcher-house/

This website offers an extensive history of The Porcher House as well as historical photos not found elsewhere.

This is the Google Maps entry for Porcher House. It offers a video tour of the property as well as the exact coordinates.

The Porcher House. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.cocoafl.org/facilities/facility/details/1

This is the official website for the Porcher House via the City of Cocoa. It offers a brief history of the property along with a video tour and hours of operation.

Porcher house. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.visitspacecoast.com/cocoa/things-to-do/porcher-house

This website can be used to find more information about hosting events at the Porcher House. It is a great source for finding official information regarding the house of operation and contact information for the property.

The Porcher House. (n.d.). Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.wedding-spot.com/venue/10073/The-Porcher-House/

This website offers information about the Porcher House from a venue rental standpoint. It has many photos of the space decorated in various styles and themes and offers a look inside the property from a different perspective than one of history.

Urban, H. (Director). (2020, October 15). Porcher house in COCOA VILLAGE! [Video file]. Retrieved April 03, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8w7AHTf3e8

This is a video tour of the Porcher House. It offers a nice amount of history with a great visual of the property.