Floweree Mansion
Architectural Style & Overview:
The Floweree Mansion is a Colonial Revival, with Queen Anne elements, built in 1901. The 20-room mansion, complete with servants quarters in the attic, was lovingly occupied for over a decade before changing hands to the Gwynne Family. From there, the Estate was sold once more before being demolished in the 1960s to make way for the current apartments that sit in its place. A lost architectural gem for certain.
Fig. 1: Photograph of the Floweree Mansion at the height of its grandeur, c. 1910s.
Architectural History, Analysis, & Features:
Up until the turn-of-the-century, the Victorian Age was an excessive era of ostentatious styles. The advent of the new millennium had ushered in a new movement for refined tastes, and thus, the Colonial Revival subtype evolved, taking root during the first half of the 20th century. What largely differed from the examples of earlier versions of American Colonial structures was the either strict or loose adherence to colonial details and order.[1]
The Floweree Mansion is one that abides by colonial order, but also incorporates Queen Anne style elements, such as:
- a turret
- large over-extensive porches
- asymmetrical lines
- balustrades
- multi-faced stories that jut out of the frame of the house
The residence was chosen out of a catalogue from a well-respected Tennessean architect, George F. Barber (See Figs.2-3). Once alterations were specified, the structure came as a kit to be assembled with all the pieces - every imaginable material involved in the construction was included in the shipment of the entire product. The materials were boxed and transported by railroad, and then by barge and ferry to Fort Myers.
Fig. 2: George Barber's Design No. 7 Floor Plans from his catalogue, Modern Dwellings, c. 1901.
Fig. 3: Rendering of George Barber's Design No. 7.
Fig. 4: Antique postcard of the Floweree Mansion, c. 1910s.
Fig. 5: Rare view of the Floweree Mansion that exposes its natural landscape complete with grapefruit and orange trees, as well as other citrus and fruits grown on the grounds.
Family HIstory & Business Interests
Early Years:
Daniel Auguste Greene Floweree, a native Missourian, and later Montanan, was born to William Kemper Floweree and Mathilda Ann Floweree. One of ten siblings, Daniel quickly rose to prominence through education and hard work. Through the trade of cattle he purchased working on his family farm, he was able to capitalize on the market, eventually becoming a Montanan Cattle King and millionaire. With business booming, he often travelled with his good friend and business partner, John T. Murphy, to various locales to inspect potential markets. It was in later part of the 19th century that they came to Florida upon hearing of the cattle, climate, and lax lifestyle. They ventured to Tampa to enjoy what the lands had to offer. “One day Murphy happened to read a story in the Tampa Tribune which aroused his interest. It stated that Florida was having the biggest cattle trade in its history and that thousands of steers were being shipped out of Punta Rassa to Cuba each month. The story also said that Fort Myers had become the cow capital of the state and was the home of many cattle kings.”[2]Upon this news, both men decided to see for themselves and ventured down south. On their many stops in the southwestern region, they witnessed the operations in motion where cattle were loaded onto schooners for Havana, Cuba. “They were not deeply impressed – by the cattle. Murphy said he had never seen such woebegone animals and Floweree emphatically agreed.”[3]However, when both men finally reached Fort Myers, they were entranced by the beauty of the natural wilds, mangroves, and wetlands with a winding Caloosahatchee River trickling its way past a charming frontier town with modest, well-mannered, and hardworking people. Both stayed at the luxurious Royal Palm Hotel and remained there for the winter. By the end of the season, both decided they would make Fort Myers their winter home. As the hired agent, Harvie E. Heitman represented the business interests of both Murphy and Floweree. Heitman was able to secure a parcel of property for Murphy located off First Street for $3,500. Murphy then sold half of the property to Floweree, making the first two parcels of land to be sold and cleared for residences, which would later be dubbed Millionaires’ Row.
Both men hired C.S. Caldwell of Tampa to construct their winter homes. Interestingly each of the men selected their residences from a catalogue. The design Floweree chose was the no. 7 floor plan from the highly popular and infamous building catalogue from George F. Barber, a Tennessean architect.[4]The design was slightly altered to fit the desires of the owner, which reportedly cost Floweree $20,000 to build (or $646,390.70 in today’s money adjusted for inflation) (See Figs. 2-3). Once the Mansion was built, Floweree heavily invested in the area, directing Heitman to purchase citrus groves in the surrounding lands north and south of Fort Myers. “[He] bought a large tract near Estero and also a 600-acre tract on the river just east of Alva. On this latter tract, he planted 150 acres of grapefruit trees and 30 acres of oranges. He turned the management of the grove over to Heitman who acted as his agent and manager from then on. In less than ten years the grove became one of the most productive and most profitable in the state.”[5] The land further south in Estero had been originally developed by a religious sect called the Koreshans – pioneers who cultivated the land in 1907 and who had devised hundreds of acres just nine miles inland from the west coast for farming. Among this land, the “Floweree Grove east of what is now U.S. 41….had 60,000 citrus trees, said to be the largest grove in the United States in the early 1900s.”[6] Thus groves were abundant and the land fertile enough for its growth and harvest, making citrus groves one of the most lucrative businesses in the region.
The development of the Murphy and Floweree Estates prompted other wealthy northerners to take root, establishing prominent households off First Street, such as “Dr. J. E. Brecht [who] in 1900 built a fine home on First Street directly across from the Murphy home and Walter G. Langford built a little further east. Homes also were constructed for Hugh McDonald Jr., Louis H. Locklar, C.A. McDougald and W. H Towles.”[7] And the list goes on. Both Murphy and Floweree were the trend setters, attracting others through their elaborate builds of their stately homes, and instigating a building spree that would take Fort Myers by storm.
Floweree would succumb to illness and pass away just after a decade of constructing his lavish residence and partaking in his multiple business ventures in the South. His death in 1912 prompted the Floweree Family to sell the Estate to Captain Gwynne and his family. At the time, the landscaped grounds boasted trees and shrubbery that included grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, coconuts, and kumquats, to name a few.[8]Reportedly, much of the original furniture belonging to the Floweree heirs were included in the sale, which Mrs. Gwynne now owned. She would come to cherish the Mansion, making vast improvements. In 1920, The Gwynne Family sold the Floweree Mansion to a wealthy New York importer, Edwin A. Richard, who purchased the Estate for $45,000, the largest property purchase in the County. Reportedly, an additional $5,000 in renovations and upgrades to the residence was made, including a “new ceiling and wall paper in all rooms, the painting of the exterior of residence, barn, poultry house, etc., new steps, new tank tops, new platforms to barn and a new front fence, with new plumbing in bathrooms, etc.”[9]Mr. Richard also received all the original antique furnishing from the Floweree heirs, as did Mrs. Gwynne, thus a fully furnished 20-room residence was purchased and improved upon. Mr. Richards would occupy the Estate for years to come until his death, leading the way for the untimely demise when the Mansion was demolished in the 1960s with very little outcry from the public and replaced with “modern” apartment buildings that now situate the property.
Fig. 6: Portrait of Daniel A.G. Floweree in proper attire.
Fig. 7: Photograph of the Riverwalk Apartments that replaced the Floweree Mansion, which was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the above buildings.
Fig. 8: Aerial photograph of the Villages at Country Creek, Estero, FL, which now sits on the very acreage that once produced the finest and largest citrus supply in the State of Florida. The agricultural land was cleared in the 1980s for this residential community. Everything seen at eye-view belonged to Floweree's grove.
Fig. 9: Front elevation of the Gwynne Institute.
The Gwynne Family History & Legacy
The Gwynne Family are extraordinary in their contribution to the betterment of Fort Myers and its rapid development. Originally winter residents, Col. Andrew D. Gwynne was “a wealthy cotton broker and wholesale grocer of Memphis, Tenn.”[10]Upon his travels with his wife and son, he noticed the dire situation the town of Fort Myers found itself in – unsuitable educational facilities. “The existing school was admittedly a disgrace to the community. It was merely an enlargement of the two-room wooden structure erected in 1887 immediately after Lee County was created….[Later,] a two-story wooden addition was made in 1902 and thereafter…[was] called the Lee County High School.”[11]Col. Gwynne made a pledge with his wife that if there ever be a communal movement to raise funds for a new school, that he would match their funds. Sadly, the Col. would pass away that very next summer back in Memphis, TN. Miraculously, though, the Fort Myers community did rally together to seek funding for a new school. Since Monroe County would do nothing to provide funds, they would raise the money themselves, and invariably is the reason why Fort Myers motioned to create their own county: Lee County, named after the revered and highly decorated General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army of the Confederate States of America. Having purchased the Floweree Estate, the Gwynne's lives became entwined with the push to provide adequate learning facilities. “[T]he town people…waged a whirlwind campaign and within two months raised $8,000. The Gwynnes then pledged an equal amount. An additional $10,000 was obtained from a special bond issue.”[12]The Gwynne Institute was built, constructed of brick and unlike any other structure ever erected in the town. The Institute consisted of “’10 classrooms, principal’s office, library and auditorium and...accommodate[d] about 400 pupils. There are 4 toilet rooms…equipped with the most up-to-date features…[and] sanitary drinking fountains. The building is supplied with heat by radiations.’”[13]When it opened its doors, the town was esteemed and elated at the sight of such a professional, yet austere looking building. Some called it ugly, while others were too proud to have an official facility for the children. Unfortunately, its celebration and practical use was outgrown in just one year. After three years, the Institute could only be used as a grade school, as the student population of Fort Myers exploded, forcing the community to seek additional funds to build another school, and a much larger one at that. “In 50 years, the neighborhoods it had served were gone and the school closed….For the next 20 years, the building served as a temporary campus first for Edison Community College (now Florida Southwestern State College).” Today, the building still uses its library and occupies many offices owned by the Lee County School Board.[14]While the Gwynne Institute still stands as a testament to the will power of a community driven by the proverbial fires to educate children and disseminate knowledge, nothing remains of the Floweree legacy – the Mansion is long gone and the famed groves replaced by residential communities, namely the Villages at Country Creek in Estero, FL - the agricultural lands and various lodgings on the land were cleared to make way for these residential complexes.[15] Whatever testament to Floweree’s might can only be reflected in this page and the scant sources that mention his name.
Fig. 10: Gwynne Institute - Front Elevation looking west.
Fig. 11: Gwynne Institute - Rear Elevation, West Wing.
Fig. 12: Gwynne Institute - Rear Elevation, East Wing.
Fun Learning Consumables for Children:
Click on the PDF documents below to download the following:
- The Gwynne Institute coloring sheet
- The Floweree Mansion worksheet
Audio-Visual Needs:
Please click below to view and listen to a video narration of the page's history.