Capt. Henry E. Sewall House

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Capt. Henry E. Sewall House
Indian RiverSide Park, Jensen Beach, Florida 003.JPG
General information
Architectural styleFlorida Cracker Vernacular
Town or cityJensen Beach, Florida
CountryUnited States
Construction started1889
Completed1889
Clienthimself
Technical details
Structural systemwooden frame
Design and construction
ArchitectCapt. Henry E. Sewall

The Capt. Henry E. Sewall House is an historic wooden house now located in Indian RiverSide Park in Jensen Beach, in Martin County, Florida. Local pioneer and developer Capt. Henry E. Sewall built it in 1889[1] at the southern tip of Sewall's Point, the peninsula and town which bear his family name. When Capt. Sewall became the postmaster of Sewall's Point, the house served also as the Sewall's Point post office. Next to the house Capt. Sewall also built a freight dock that extended into the St. Lucie River along with a storage building at its end.[2][3]

In 1910, Capt Sewall and his wife Abbie (Evans) Sewall built a larger house higher up on the property and in 1913 the 1889 house was moved by barge across the St. Lucie River to a waterfront lot on what is now Old St. Lucie Boulevard in (now part of Stuart), where it stood until being moved by barge to Indian RiverSide Park in 2007.[4] During its stay in Port Sewall the present small rectangular cupola was added to the roof of the house. During Prohibition, green or red lanterns were hung in the cupola to signal incoming bootleggers whether it was safe or not for them to offload their cargoes of alcohol.[5]

In 2008 the building was moved to its permanent location within Indian Riverside Park.[6] In November 2012 the restored building was opened to the public.[7]

In 2012 the building was designated a Martin County Historic Property.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ Historic Palm Beach County, Frontier Days- Local History 1873 – 1893, November 1889
  2. ^ Writer, Bob, Historic house in Jensen Beach to stay put till summer, tcpalm.com, December 21, 2007
  3. ^ Hutchinson, Janet, compiler, and Paige, Emeline K., editor, History of Martin County, 1975, p. 119, reprinted 1987, Port Salerno, Florida: Florida Classics Library
  4. ^ Writer, Bob, Historic house in Jensen Beach to stay put till summer, tcpalm.com, December 21, 2007
  5. ^ Historic Preservation Board. Captain Sewall House: A landmark under restoration, tcpalm.com September 28, 2009
  6. ^ Hereford, Lady, Capt. Sewall's 118-year-old home moves to park in Jensen Beach, tcpalm.com December 17, 2008
  7. ^ Weber, Judith, Captain Sewall home saved in Martin County; open to support charity , tcpalm.com, October 26, 2012
  8. ^ * Captain Sewall House in Jensen Beach to receive plaque, October 29, 2012

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