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Bagdad Living Com
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Church Street
BAGDAD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES - SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL
A Florida Heritage Site
Forcade House - 6865 Allen Street
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
This Shingle Style house was built in 1919 for Edward and Emma Forcade by her brother, Elzear Forcade. The home features excellent craftsmanship, including a curved upper front porch, along with multiple roof styles, including hip, gable, and shed. Repetition in smaller details such as the multi-pane upper sashes lends interest and overall cohesiveness to the asymmetrical design.
(Above) Butt shingles made of heart pine cover the upper story of the Forcade house, giving the home its distinguished character.
Both Elzear and his brother-in-law, Edward, worked for the Bagdad Land and Lumber Company. Elzear creatively used small pieces of heart pine wood scrap from the mill to construct the home's intricate interior. For its historical contribution in Architectural design, the Forcade house is listed as a Florida Heritage Site.
(Above; Below) Each room features a different ceiling, wall, and floor design, made entirely of heart pine. The rich patina enhances the fine craftsmanship and creative use of moldings and paneling.
(Right) The beautiful Dutch style front door can be opened on the top half for ventilation while the bottom half remains closed.
At the rear of the property, visitors can view a circa 1870 Hand-drawn Fire Hose Cart. This firefighting equipment was used at the lumber mills of Simpson and Company, followed by the Stearns and Culver Company and later used by the Bagdad Land and Lumber Company. The cart was preserved by the Leo V. Davis family and restored by David A. Bailley of Bagdad, FL and David R. Adams of Chipley, FL.
(Right) At the rear of the Forcade House, visitors can view the circa 1870 Hand-drawn Fire Hose Cart used during three eras of Bagdad's Lumber Mill.
(Above) The Forcade House is one of four Florida Heritage Sites in the Historic Village of Bagdad.
(Right) The Hand-drawn Fire Hose Cart is a rich piece of Bagdad's history, preserved by the Leo V. Davis family.
Milligan House - 1512 Church Street
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
This 1929 Shotgun House, a sub-type of Frame Vernacular, is one room wide, several rooms deep, and was built to house the mill employees. The front door of a typical Shotgun House is offset and opens into a hallway running the length of the building. The Shotgun style homes in Bagdad lack the hallway, thus each room is entered from doorway to doorway. Most of the Shotgun Houses in Bagdad are found on Church, Limit, School and Water Streets and have been expanded to accommodate growing families. The Milligan House is part of the Historic Bagdad Village Museum Complex maintained by the Bagdad Village Preservation Association.
(Right; Below) The Shotgun House is typically one room wide and several rooms deep. The Shotgun style homes in Bagdad lack the hallway, thus each room is entered from doorway to doorway.
(Left; Above) In a Shotgun style house, space is used wisely. The living and dining spaces were multi-functional to accommodate the everyday tasks such as food preparation, sewing, and office work.
Former New Providence Missionary Baptist Church - 1512 Church Street
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 -1903
This building is the former New Providence Missionary Baptist Church of Bagdad and is now home to the Historic Bagdad Village Museum. The church building was relocated in 1989 from Popcorn Road to its present location on Church Street. Beyond Church and Simpson Streets was housing for the African-American workforce. Many of those buildings date from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. The most significant of these was the New Providence Missionary Baptist Church which began construction in 1874 and was finally complete in 1901.
The Frame Vernacular style church is built entirely of heart pine and is believed to be the oldest African-American Church in existence in Santa Rosa County. The lumber for the project came from the old Bay Point Mill and was hauled to the site by mule and wagon. Wooden shingles were original to the church as well as windows made by the Bagdad Sash Factory.
(Right) Heart pine is a very dense and beautiful wood preferred by builders due to its strength, hardness, and golden red coloration.
(Below) Heart pine was used to construct the former New Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Bagdad.
(Below) This turned bowl, made of heart pine from the area, shows the wood's amber patina and grain.
The church remained unaltered until 1929 when the wood-shingled roof was replaced by a tin roof. Bathroom facilities were added later as well as the installation of a Delco motor to supply electricity. The exterior windows were also eventually replaced.
Today, the Bagdad Village Preservation Association operates and maintains the structure in its present location where the building serves as the Historic Bagdad Village Museum.
C Milligan Hs
C Forcade Hs
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