The Holden House, located at 204 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell, Florida, was built in 1918 by Samuel Merwin Bortree (1859–1918) as a wedding gift for his daughter Ethel Lura Bortree Holden (1892–1977), and her husband Thomas Edward Holden (1892–1974). It is an excellent example of the Craftsman

Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

architectural style. The house was purchased by

Flagler County Flagler County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 115,378. Its county seat is Bunnell. Created in 1917 from portions of Saint Johns and Volusia Counties, it ...

for $40,000 on August 6, 1979 from a Holden family member. It is now a museum that features artifacts from Flagler County and the general Florida area dating from the

St. Johns Culture The St. Johns culture was an archaeological culture in northeastern Florida, USA that lasted from about 500 BCE (the end of the Archaic period) until shortly after European contact in the 17th century. The St. Johns culture was present along the ...

(500 BCE) to the present. It is also the headquarters for the Flagler County Historical Society.Jaye, Randy. The Holden House Centennial (1918–2018). ''Flagler County Historical Society'', (2018). The house's upstairs bathroom was one of the first indoor bathrooms in the Bunnell area and features unique small hexagon tiles on the floor which were similar to the flooring design used in the original owner's pharmacy building (Holden's Pharmacy) which is no longer extant and was located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Moody Boulevard and U.S. 1 in Bunnell.The Pioneers of Bunnell. Pictorial History of Bunnell, FL. ''Flagler County Historical Society'', (1988). The Holden House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 16, 2018 (Reference Number: SG100003020).

Holden House History and Architectural Attributes

The style of the Holden House is Craftsman Bungalow which was a popular architectural design in the United States from around 1900 to the mid-1930s. Craftsman Bungalow style houses are known for their many fine details and excellent workmanship. The style was influenced by earlier homes that were built by British colonists in India. This house style, which includes the Holden House, is defined by features that include wood construction, a low-pitched gabled roof with broad

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

, large front porches, practical floor plans, plastered ceilings, a

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

and

casement windows A casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges at the side. They are used singly or in pairs within a common frame, in which case they are hinged on the outside. Casement windows are often held open using a cas ...

.Winter, Robert. American Bungalow Style. ''Simon & Schuster'', (1996). A unique feature on the Holden House was the use of colorful pieces of apothecary bottles (glass mosaic) that were inset in the front gable. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew knocked the glass mosaic off of the gable of the front dormer. Early in 2019, white aluminum siding was installed on the gable of the front dormer to replace the glass mosaic. When the sun porch was added, sometime in the 1930s, the gable was inset with an array of multi-colored antique glass, broken dishes and at least one automobile tail light in an attempt to make it look similar to the front gable's original design.Jaye, Randy. Flagler County, Florida: A Centennial History. ''Booklocker.com'', (2017). The Holden House, now more than 100 years old, is mostly in original condition. The locally quarried

coquina Coquina () is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term ''coquina'' ...

rock along the front porch is original. The sash windows are replacements. The chimney on the southwest side of the house was replaced a few years ago because roofers performing repairs accidentally knocked some of it down. The fireplace in the living room originally contained a

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

stove that heated the house during the winter. The Holden's had residential air conditioning and heating installed in the house in the 1950s. The wood trim and most of the interior doors are original to the house as is the plate rail in the dining room. The kitchen sink and appliances have all been replaced but the wood cabinets are original. The breakthrough between the kitchen and dining room is original and was used for family gatherings and social events. Some of the downstairs pine wood flooring was damaged by

termites Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

and had to be removed. It was replaced by removing and installing the same undamaged wood flooring from closets on the second floor. The downstairs bathroom was added years after the house was built. A prominent feature of the second floor is an outside screened porch that is accessed through the master bedroom. In 1988, a $57,000 historical grant from the State of Florida was awarded and a portion was used for a major renovation of the house. This is one of the main reasons the house is now in excellent cosmetic and structural condition. In 2010, more than $23,000 was invested in additional repairs that included the replacement of damaged exterior wood siding and trim, exterior painting (which restored the house's exterior to its original color: white with green trim), installation of a metal hand rail on the rear porch, replacement of windows and the remodeling of the upstairs bathroom which included the installation of period-correct fixtures.FlaglerLive. Botox for Historic Holden House. ''FlaglerLive.com'', July 17, 2010.

Holden Family History

Thomas Holden was born and raised in Palatka, FL and moved to Bunnell in 1914. He was a prominent Flagler County pharmacist, businessman, realtor, community activist and politician. In 1916, he purchased the Smith Drug Store in Bunnell and changed its name to Holden's Pharmacy where he began operating his pharmaceutical business. He married Ethel Lura Bortree Holden on December 25, 1917 and they had two daughters, Altajane Caudill (1919-2007), and Eleanor "Tommie" Black Shutt (1926-2017), who were raised in the house and later became pharmacists. In 1920, his political career began when he was elected Mayor of Bunnell. In 1924, he was appointed a School Trustee of Bunnell High School. In 1926, he opened, owned and operated the Holden Realty Company in Bunnell. In 1930, he built a new brick commercial building in Bunnell where he moved his Holden's Pharmacy, and operated this business in that building until he sold it in 1951. In 1938, he became a director and later an Executive Vice President of the Citizens Bank of Bunnell. He was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Bunnell Lodge #200 Free & Accepted Masons, and an Ambassador of the Morocco Temple of Jacksonville. He also served as a director of the Federal Housing Agency in Flagler County. In 1967, he was honored by the Florida State Pharmaceutical Association for his 50 years as a registered pharmacist.

Holden House Annex

The Holden House Annex is a rectangular cinder block structure behind the Holden House (and part of the Holden House property) that once housed Flagler County's Veterans Services. It now houses the Flagler County Historical Society's offices and archival and artifacts repository, and offers local research opportunities. Items include: furniture, radios, historic subject files, clothing, hats, more than 400 maps, bound volumes of the ''Flagler Tribune'' (1918-1980), copies of the ''Bunnell Home Builder'' (1912-1918), hundreds of loose and framed photographs, thousands of obituaries that were published in local newspapers, historic books and magazines, and a searchable family database with over 250,000 family names from Florida and Georgia.Flagler County Historical Society website. History Annex Research Building. ''https://www.flaglercountyhistoricalsociety.com/''

Holden House Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The initial nomination was approved by the Florida National Register Review Board on August 9, 2018 and was then sent to the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service for final approval by the Keeper of the National Register.London, Aaron. Historian leads effort to put Holden House on national register. ''Daytona Beach News-Journal'', August 1, 2018. On October 16, 2018, the Holden House was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places. Weekly List for October 19, 2018. ''NPS.gov''.

References

External links

Flagler County Historical Society.

Flagler County, Florida.

* ttp://www.antiquehomestyle.com/styles/bungalow.htm Bungalow Style Homes — 1900 to 1935.
Characteristics of an American Craftsman Home.

Botox for Historic Holden House - FlaglerLive.com - July 17, 2010.

Tom Holden left legacy beyond career as pharmacist - Daytona Beach News-Journal - February 17, 2016.

Looking back: Past meets present for students at Holden House - Daytona Beach News-Journal - May 31, 2017.

Historian leads effort to put Holden House on national register - Flagler/Palm Coast Tribune - August 1, 2018.

Tom Holden was Flagler County pharmacist, leading citizen - Daytona Beach News-Journal - August 1, 2018.

Holden House a step closer to historic designation - Daytona Beach News-Journal - August 14, 2018.

History lives on in the house that was the Holdens' home - Palm Coast Observer - August 22, 2018.

Holden House named to National Register of Historic Places - Flagler/Palm Coast Tribune - October 22, 2018.

Holden House on National Registry - FlaglerLive.com - October 25, 2018.

Holden House on National Register - Palm Coast Observer - October 25, 2018.

Holden House and Annex - ''Visit Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches''.

Holden House Marker, Bunnell, FL - ''University of North Florida''.

* [http://www.historyspeak.com/Signed%20on%2010-16-2018%20-%20NRHP%20form%2010-900%20for%20the%20Holden%20House%20(SG100003020).pdf National Register of Historic Places - NPS Form 10-900 - Ref. #SG100003020 - Holden House listed: October 16, 2018.] {{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Bungalow architecture in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Flagler County, Florida Houses completed in 1918 Historic house museums in Florida Tourist attractions in Florida 1918 establishments in Florida Houses in Flagler County, Florida Buildings and structures in Flagler County, Florida