Mount Dora Historic inn - Part 2

Part 2: Mattie's Place

The house Ivan built at 221 E. 4^th Avenue in 1910 became known as “Geer Cottage” in 1913. Charles & Ella (Brierly) Geer, snowbirds from Worcester, Massachusetts, had rented in Mount Dora for the winter of 1911, then purchased land in 1912 to build a home. The lot was on the northeast corner of 4^th and Baker, which is where the Geer’s settled, but they purchased Ivan Franklin’s home as a retreat for family and friends seeking an escape from the harsh Northern winters.

Charles A. Geer, born 1855 at Westerly, Rhode Island, was part owner of Whitaker Reed Co, a prominent maker of looms for the wool industry. By 1912 however he was ready to retire, and so he and wife Ella relocated full-time to Mount Dora. Charles became “an active officer in Mount Dora’s Yacht Club,” said Lake Eustis Region newspaper, and continued and active involvement until becoming bedridden. Following a “long and painful death,” Charles Geer died February 20, 1916.

For several years the Geer’s had been active in the community of Mount Dora, A 1913 ad in the Lake Eustis Region had listed his title as Rear Commodore of the Mount Dora Yacht Club.

Lake Eustis Region newspaper, February 20, 1913, C. A. Geer, Rear Commodore

 

Rick’s Blog beginning June 1, 2022: An Encore Presentation The day history was made at the Mount Dora Yacht Club

A Blog version of my 2022 Mount Dora Yacht Club on location presentation.

 

Several months prior to Geer’s death in 1916, the Widow Mattie B. Little of Mount Dora took title to both Geer homes, including the house at 221 E. 4^th Avenue built by Ivan Franklin. The deed to both homes were returned to Widow Ella Geer following her husband’s death, but this unusual transaction made Widow Matter Little the third owner of the Ivan Franklin house, even if only briefly. Most thought-provoking about this unusual short term ownership transaction is that it introduces a New England twist to this charming Mount Dora Historic Inn.

Mattie B. Little is a little-known Mount Doran who, during the early 1900s, played a big role, pardon the puns, in fashioning the sleepy little Central Florida town that had been adopted by a New England clan for use as winter residences. A decade before acquiring the Geer Cottage on 26 October 1915, Mattie and husband Charles had arrived at Mount Dora and purchased the Atterberry Store. Located at the southeast corner of 4^th and Donnelly, Charles & Mattie Little, of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, then converted the vacated general store into the historic Robert Burns Inn.

Robert Burns Inn, 4^th & Donnelly, Mount Dora

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders. (Page 201)

 

As I said, the Little family affected Mount Dora in a large way, and much of the charm the city enjoys today is a result of Mattie and her exceptionally civic-minded daughter, Emma J. Tallant. The Little family’s influence even spilled over onto 221 E. 4^th Avenue.

Chapter 23: The Incomparable Emma J. Tallant

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders.

 

George and Bertha S. Barnard, the fourth owner of the house on Fourth Avenue, took possession in April 1919. Snowbirds, the Barnard’s had been residents of Contoocook, a village in the city limits of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, the previous hometown of the Little’s of Mount Dora. So, to make myself clear, Mattie of Hopkinton bought the house Ivan built, sold it back, and then it was acquired a few years later by the Barnard’s of Hopkinton.

Fast forward a few years, Mattie Little was instrumental in forming The New Hampshire Club of Mount Dora. George E. Barnard was named the first Chairman of the Club, Mattie’s daughter, Mrs. Eugene A. (Little) Tallant, was named the clerk. Formed in 1930, the New Hampshire Club had four Charter Members, one having first arrived at Mount Dora in 1888.

The Mount Dora Historic Inn has been intricately involved in the development of Mount Dora from the moment Ivan Franklin moved his family in, but its rich history is just getting started.

 

This story resumes Sunday, May 22^nd with Part 3: The Doctor’s in the House.

 

Have you ever wondered about the history of your Lake County home? Perhaps I can help! I will be the Tavares History Museum, in the restored train station at Ruby Street and St. Clair-Abrams Avenue, from 10 AM to 2 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2022. The museum is celebrating their first Anniversary. Why not visit the museum that day, look over my Tavares and Mount Dora history books, and ask me about how to go about researching the history of your home.

On sale at the History Museum’s Anniversary Open House

Tavares History Museum at Tavares Union Depot

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

Mount Dora: The Lure. The Founding. The Founders. 

Books by Historian Richard Lee Cronin

Tavares: Darling of Orange County, Birthplace of Lake County

The Rutland Mule Matter – A Civil War Novel

First Road to Orlando: The Fort Mellon to Fort Gatlin Trail

Citrusland: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains

Beyond Gatlin: A History of South Orange County

Orlando Lakes: Homesteaders & Namesakes

Citrusland, DC: District of Columbians of Central Florida

Florida’s Indian River Duchess

Seven Honorable Floridians: Seven Voted NO!

Citrusland: Curse of Florida’s Paradise

Also available at Amazon