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| This photo of Lawrence B. Brown is from the cover of the book 'From Slavery to Community Builder' |
Born enslaved in North Florida in 1856. Died a prosperous builder and community leader in South Central Florida in 1941. We'd all do well to learn a bit more about Lawrence Bernard Brown. And you can, by visiting the website of the Historic L.B. Brown House: https://www.lbbrown.com
Brown achieved his success and respect "at a time when it was dangerous to be a successful Black person." That quote is from the website dedicated to Brown and the large Victorian house he built. The house is now a Florida Historical Landmark. Brown himself is recognized as A Great Floridian by the Florida Department of State and Florida League of Cities.
I've been digging up Florida history for years, but it took a long time for the algorithms (current) or books, pamphlets and local histories (pre-internet) to bring Brown to my attention. He even lived for a while in the county of my residence, about which I thought I knew a lot.
There is - or was - even a street named after him in my county (Volusia). The Brown house website says he named a Lawrence Street during his 19th century tenure in DeLeon Springs, known at the time as Spring Garden.
He'd "acquired a considerable amount of property" in Spring Garden, says the website, on which he built houses and then rented and sold them. To learn more, I plan to read the book From Slavery to Community Builder, The Story of Lawrence B. Brown. You can find more information about the book on the website.
Brown's time in Spring Garden was temporary but was a step on his journey to success. That journey began near Gainesville, where he grew up. As a free man, he applied for and received a homestead grant in Alachua County. From there, he bought land and built a subdivision in Volusia County. In the mid-1880s, the family moved to Bartow (Polk County) and that's where his legacy really took root.
Brown was a self-taught master carpenter. The beautiful Victorian family home he built in about 1892 is testament to that. But the house was abandoned and nearly lost to the elements before being restored in 2001. It's available for tours by appointment: an email, phone number and a contact form are all available on the website. You may watch a YouTube video tour linked at the bottom of this post. There's also an annual L.B. Brown Heritage Festival at the site.
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| The L.B. Brown House. Photo credit: www.lbbrown.com |
The house today is owned by the Neighborhood Improvement Corporation of Bartow Inc. If you can't get to Bartow, you can view many house photos on the website.
May Lawrence Brown's legacy continue to inspire.
