Document text
February 28, 1940.
Mrs. T. H. Allington
"Red Bank"
,4;--- 1230 Greenridge Head
South Jacksonville,
6-.- ••(-4(ec Florida.
Personal Interview
Hose Shepherd, Writer.
Az
RD mx$
HISTORIC DUVAL COUNTY HOBS
on the last street within the corporate limits of South
Jacksonville stands "Red Bank" an old plantation manor
house formerly centering a land grant with a seven -mile
frontage an the St. Johns miver.und a history of continuous
ownership of over one hundred years by the Phillips
long identified with puval County history and civic affairs.
The disband for estates with homes along the river,
resulted in sales of wails of land comprising the old grant
from time to time, and finally an enterpriaing real estate
company secured title to a large aoreage nearest the city
limits, developing it as a high class residential section
usurer the name of. "Colonial munor" gesture of recognition
of the importaliaeof the old house in the picture.
Profiting by the experience acquired in marketing another
development on the south side, the real estate company brought
in dredging maohinery, sand and silt was pumped up from tha
river bed, and the property line frontage was extended some
hundred or more feet. So "Red Bank" whioh, in the early days,
was only a stone's throw from the mighty St. Johns, is now six
blocks buck from the river bank.
MOS
a.
"Red mane
°Colonial manor" was popular from the beginning with
those wishing to establish themselves as far as possible from
the "madding °rood" and. yet scour* the city faeilities of
runningisater„ eleetrio light, and convenient *Goose to looal
sohools,. A distanoe whieh in the el& Lays was a throe -hour
journey from Jacksonville owierot by bus or auto in
twenty minutes.
New belies sprang up throughout the emotion, but nobody
wanted the old house, until mrs. T. H. Bllingtoa three years
ago realised its possibilities. Ravine "Mont her shilithoot
in just such a home on a plantation near Dalton, Georgia,
she lenge& to again live in a hen's with twelve foot ceilings,
deep fireplaces, and spacious rooms, is the purchase was mate,
the deed reoorded, and restoration sonmeneed.
he old house has not had its "tepee lifted." HOWOVOre
the modern platting of lets and streets neoessitatet making
tho west side the front entraaoe„ with the number 14110
oreearitse mead. There is a new door with an OLA fashioned
braes knocker, and new mash in the twelve -light windows
which "four-Psguare" the front, with narrow green shutter"
framing the sides.
A double track assent driveway leads %elite east entrails'
and on into a two -ear garage. This was formerly the front of
house which fused the sand trail of the private lane
leading through the plantation from the main country road.
memente of the old hitahing post remained here until a few
years ago, and weathered old liveoake in the yard (soul& tell
many intirosting tales of the plantation owners, their twat
the
is now
lies ant dietinguishei guests who in early days passed throagh-'
this wits oolonial doer with Ito framing of email 'motions of
il000 to admit light into the *pietas* hall whioh market the
outran** to this hospitable southern home.
"Judge it! I. Philiipe'Vtger was the owner of the
original grant," said ars. Sllingten, *whioh be received
direct from the apanish king in reeognition of *ems writes
rims serviee to the crown, an was than the custom. Re was
a retire& elm septet's from so& sank, awe Jersey, hence he
nosed his new possession "Riot mane which disignation coontin-
ass to the present day. :ads* Phillips' 'lion in large Pleas
has the original dee& to the land, written entirely in apanish.
The plase was in such a wildernees, with the esuntry
then roamed far and wide by Indiana, that Oaptain Phillips was
not muah interested in his awe property, and he never lived
hers. Rewever, his sea, who was Judge Phillips' father came
down, and when he saw the place so beautifully located along
the mighty st. Johns slyer, he built a log 'midst right on the
erect of the hill here, where he lived, for some years. Re
*squired a Urge numblr of slaves, valued at *100.000. so I
have been told. Large sections of the land were cleared and
planted in cotton, sugarcane, 'porn. peas, and garden crops.
"This house was built in 1814 with bricks moulded by
hand from clay obtained right on the plantatiom and "Warned
in large kilns bw the slaves at saoh siowitaaivais they were net
busy with forming. 1 an told it required two years to complete
the work,
"Judge Phillips was born about two years or more after
the house was built.
Bei bank
*1
"The slave quarters were task of the hause to the south.
The kitchen was steam building with a 00V0,04 way loading
to the dining room on the southeast the resew* sew use
for a breakfast roan. The stables were down near the river,
the Choi., Ulaoksmith shor, the earponter shop, ooning up
to meet %he slave quarters in 4 seri-oirele.
"The hams is built on heavy hand-hown tisane's. The
house soutanes to the 'four -pen' styli, of interior with
large hall eacth way and openings opposito on all ciao, to
,glvo *roes ventilatiOn. 3aoh room sontalned a fireplase.
The four roans on the loser floor and theAsorrospending four
above are sash twenty feet square. The floors throughout
are the original hard wood, won seasoned and tenpsrol, and
highly poll shot from long use. The walls are sixissa Lushes
Wok, both Om (Maids and the partitions.
"When,' took ov4r the property and put in eleotrie
wiring an& modern plumbing, it was quite a task fOr the
nosh/antes to out through the heavy walls is twit, they
Just hod to use plek-axes to make the proper openings.
The oil furnsee was 'metalled to good advantage in
the former dining -room, taking up about a fourth of the
spas*, but in running the pipes to different parts of the
building, we had to use the fonsor roon-elesets, MO the
partitions *ors of solid masonry and °mild not to utilised
for this purpose.
".fter the ware when the slaves were frees the Phillips'
found it di:ficult to operate the large plantation, and
Aid Sank
large pertiens of the land were sold. Pref. Palmer, who was
superimtendent of.tslolie inotruotion for Duval county, ne-
(trivet the hem. plate., and lived here sith his lively tastily
of boys and girls for many years.
silicabeth Palmer (Mr.. 0. Tyler) had told me that
when they lived in this house, they used Si hunt alligators
nes
in the swamps betemon here and town. Drains have /omen put
in by the real estate tampon, and the lowest part developed
as a beauty spot in the foss of a large lake. ft* said they
would blind the alligators by tassling lights, and then they
would he killed or oaptured. The negro*, et* sonata parts
of the alligator neat, And they *wad always find ready sale
for the hides after they were properly taken ears of.
"There was no road to San Jose, as is now, between hers
and the river. The main road same over nendtioks Avenue from
the ferry, and the private lane ti the house bore led off
from this road, und mime past the house between the two big
liveoake to the east.
"On *amount of it. spasiouonems„ the alt house was always
famous ale a gathering plass or social affairs, particularly
dames. but it was mush a Journey to get here, that when
there were evening parties and tenses, the guests had to be
aeoommeduted ever night. This was no_tesuble, however, the
rooms were co big extra bets were set up, and the girls
were taken sets of in one wing of the house, the boys in the
other.
"V its heyday there wore many different kinds of fruit
raised on the plums, but the only reminders now are two
mmi oak
6•
mersift plum tries in the side yard and a few of the old
orange trees in the book. There is also a crepe myrtle
tree in the south yard, and the stump of a very large one
where the tree was out town nearby to maks room for a now
house.
"All of the old gardens and flowers have long sines
disappeared. sirs. Tyler has oustings from some of the old
rosebushes and 1 an in hopes of getting some of these to
bring book and start growing again in the home of their
anoostors."
4t trip of inspection through the house disoleest the
painstaking oar* Itith whieh mr. and um« Xllingten lisess
modernised the interior, but retained the old outlines.
The color &gime of the breakfast room the forma).
dining room of the Old ham. is buff and libitum, red;
the linoleum floor wowing a oombination of these two mil-
ers, the aurtaius of buff, the breakfast eat the some shade,
and all °hairs with aushions and baak covers of buff and red
with a traoory of green. The 'At. windows with their sills
sixteen inohes &top permitted the light from the oast ant south
to enter, making the room aheerfol indeed. mven the oil hoot.
ing turmoil in the southweigt oorner of the room did not 444111
out of pilule. "A separate room oould have been built for
the furnace, but we iteeided to put it right in the breakfast
room, and get the *neat of all the heat. said Arlo 4111MS.
ton.
The pantry Spam, and the volicsinous olosets for dishes
and linen had been retained. A short passage leads to the
dining room on the west half of the house. !von hors the
MNIL Mask
7.
vieta is Urest*-talcing. ?he stairway, which forwerlY wont
up fron the oast or front entranee, has been *hanged to the
seater of the henna, a wall he. been ramrod and a wide arch
installed between:,, the cut tines hall und living room, throws.
Ana the whole half of the west elle of the house into one lent
room approximately thirty by sixty fast. /tisk sat eking
burgundy broadloom rage oevered the three floor spaces,
rieh draperies in bustunly cowered the long windows, and
throughout with excellent taste were distributed the plant..
nom heirlooms of furniture, inherited by,mrs. Millington upon
the death of her mother two years ago at the ago of ninety
years. in the senter a priceless hand-vubbed maheaa47
dining table covered with a hand -made uhiness lees cover
there agelnet the well a drop-leaf table a hundred Ina fifty
year& Old an Italian hamd-osrved boOkease, somforsable old
*hairs, with several of modern typo-- all completely blending
into a harmonious whole, In the dining room and living room
the old fireplieees had been retained, but were not in use, as
the modern hosting system distributes the heat evenly end
somfortably.
rrem the dining room through Pronsh doors to the west
is a tiled -floor, glassed -in sun parlor, formitii used by
ire. allington for her kindergarten clues, with floor -to
ceiling closets for storing away the equipment used in this
work in %ALA she has gained wide reputation. A system of
ear& iodises with 'ease histories' of her little pupils
ono their rotations to child study has bola filature& In
wugaein irtio1.. ant school Journals, and its. animates
has boon asked by Pofbody's uellogo.to oompilo those 10400
histories' into a booklet, with some of the simplo charaster*
Miming stories she was aaoustemed to toll her little shammy
so that it nay be distribotod to mothers and ohild-training
agenclos as a now aid in kindergarten work:.
The library opens to the oast of the living room, snit
has &cases fres the musts roam, the hall, and the breakfast
room. This is anoth r of the large twenty by tient, foot
rooms, hsvinga oosy fireplatto, and with earefully Amnia
window arrangement, and lined with shaves from floor to
soiling, filled with carefully solootod books, in vary at*
traotivo.
A small bathroom has been out from the southeast some*
of the library.
The second floor arrangement is very simple, containing
four large bedrooms. A wide hall goes through the ***tar from
oast to west, a wide window in the oust usd u largo door in
the west opening onto the sun parlor below, nerve too, a
tiled bathroom has boon oonstruated in spate' taken from the
northeast bedroom, •oeuptim by the two sons of the Zanily.
The rooms are simply furnished, with :-,any of the 0;14 pies** of
furniture, and pictures and photographs of long ago.
era. sllington is quite a talented artiste snd through-
out the house 4iro many well *horn flOser pictures and other
well oxoeutod subioots, adding mature and solor to the old
interior.'