Historic Queen Anne on the Suwannee River
Sophie Jane Adams House, c. 1893
We found this lovely home along the Suwannee River in Hamilton County, Florida.
The Sophie Jane Adams House built c. 1893, is an impressive work of Victorian architecture in the Carpenter Gothic style. Sophia Jane had the house built after the death of her husband, Captain Robert Watkins Adams.
The backyard is so pretty and gently slopes down to the wild Suwannee River. Palm trees are abundant and the Spanish moss lazily covers the Live Oaks like it’s taking a long nap.
The town is White Springs and it’s a beautiful example of Old Florida. The developers have taken over the southern part of Florida with strip malls and their crappy housing developments but North Florida has some places were greed and money haven’t yet destroyed the beauty God has given us.
Florida is called “Wild Florida” for a reason. People who grew up here love the mystery and beauty of this tropical State.
There are jungles and vines and turtles roaming through your yard; Cassia and passion vine growing in the fields attracting the bees and butterflies. In the Spring, bright flowers called Phlox grow regally in the ditches and on the roadsides until the mowers come and make them disappear.
One day, families and children will be taking photos and picking flowers for a bouquet and the next day, the jewel toned Phlox have been cut down and dirt and sand remain.
I grew up on a River two hours south the Suwannee named the Alafia. Most storytellers say the name came from the phosphate in the water which under certain conditions create a fiery glow. “Alafia” is a native word meaning ‘river of fire’.
