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Bagdad Living Com
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Forsyth Street
BAGDAD VILLAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES - SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL
Thompson House - 4620 Forsyth St
FORSYTH & SIMPSON ERA, 1840 - 1855
This antebellum home is the best remaining Florida Panhandle example of a symmetrical Greek Revival structure designed with a double veranda, balustrade, and gable roof. The house is constructed entirely of local heart pine lumber with its interior featuring Egyptian Revival - Temple of Luxor details in the use of moldings for windows and door casings.
(Below) This Creole Cottage sits on the northwest corner of the Thompson House property.
(Left) This historic marker is one of 4 in Bagdad. The marker relates the significance of the Village of Bagdad and the lumber mill during Civil War era. The historic value of the Thompson House lies not only in its architecture but as a survivor of Beard's raid when in 1862 Confederates raided or burned all useful assets, keeping them from falling into Union hands.
A Florida Heritage Site
Hanese - Ingram House - 4621 Forsyth St
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 - 1903
This cottage is a Double Pen style constructed by the E. E. Simpson & Company. The Double Pen house is usually square or rectangular in shape. In the front of the home, a full-length porch is incorporated under the main roof with one or more entrances offset of the center. This example has two chimneys rather than the common central ridge chimney.
Crabtree - Wilks House - 4617 Forsyth St
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 - 1903
Built before 1900, this is another Double Pen style cottage that illustrates how popular rural vernacular building styles were adapted by lumber company builders. These cottages evolved from single room log cabins where an additional room (pen) was added alongside the first, creating a home that was two rooms wide and a single room deep.
McArthur House - 4606 Forsyth St
FORSYTH & SIMPSON ERA, 1840 - 1855
The McArthur House was mostly likely built between 1847 and 1860. It is a Greek Revival style home with a wrap-around porch on the northern end. A private balcony with an ornamental balustrade in a wedding ring pattern extends over the side porch. The first floor features a Lefever front door and full length windows that are 2 over 4 double-hung with original glass panes.
(Right) The McArthur house is currently under restoration as the owners work through layers of paint uncovering rich handcrafted details skilled craftsmen used to build this historic home.
Pooley - Pope House - 4613 Forsyth St
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 - 1903
This home dates to before 1900 and is among the oldest Double Pen style cottages in Bagdad. The structure follows the common characteristics of the style having two separate entries in front, a porch set under the main roof, and a central ridge chimney. Only later were Double Pen houses consciously designed to provide separate living and sleeping quarters.
Lee Brown - Beach House - 4605 Forsyth St
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 - 1903
This Creole Cottage, also known as the Gulf Coast Cottage, is a specialized form of Frame Vernacular which is thought to be from the West Indies. These simple, unadorned buildings were built in Bagdad towards the end of the nineteenth century. The one- story is built with a balloon frame structural system resting on brick piers. Creole Cottages have a deep front porch set under their main (side-facing) gable roof. No other Creole Cottages are found east of the Village of Bagdad in Florida.
(Above) The owners of the Lee Brown - Beach house will soon begin restoration of this Creole Cottage style home on Forsyth St.
(Right) A double knife-switch located towards the front of the house allowed electrical current to enter through a knob and tube wiring system. Power was supplied to the town by a small dynamo engine located at the Stearns & Culver Company's Gang Mill. Like many homes in Bagdad that predated electricity, this Creole Cottage previously used oil lamps for lighting and was later wired to receive power from the mill.
W. P. Brown - Catoe House - 4601 Forsyth St
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
The W. P. Brown - Catoe House is a Frame Vernacular style built in the last era of Bagdad's lumber mill. Whether lay or self-taught, the builders used their experience and available resources to construct buildings that did not represent any major contemporary stylistic trends. This home features an asymmetrical front entrance and is clad with drop siding, a common detail in this period Frame Vernacular.
Barber Brown's Shop - 4601 Forsyth St
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
Built by Mr. W. P. Brown, this small brick building housed his barber shop which sat between his home and Boles' Cleaners next door. In the rear partition was a shower where at one time you could 'buy' a bath. The original red and white striped poles still support the roof overhang. The striped poles were at one time a recognizable symbol used for distinguishing a barber shop.
(Right) The original barber poles still remain on the small brick building on Forsyth St known as 'Barber Brown's' shop.
Arnold House - 4600 Forsyth St
STEARNS & CULVER COMPANY ERA, 1903 - 1923
This Double House dates to 1912 and is one of six built in Bagdad. The 'townhouse' accommodated two families. Each side was a mirror image of the other having two rooms on the upper floor, three rooms on the lower, and a side entry.
(Right) The Arnold House is the best example of the Double House style in Bagdad. This picture shows the mirror image of the left side. The side porches were not original to the design.
Golden House - 4565 Forsyth St
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
The Golden House is another example of Frame Vernacular style. In Bagdad, Frame Vernacular buildings are generally one or two stories in height with a balloon frame structural system, usually having a rectangular plan, and most often mounted on brick piers. Horizontal weatherboards and drop siding were most widely used on their exteriors. Varying styles of porches were a common feature as well as gable and hip roofs that were steep enough to accommodate attics.
Whitfield House - 4560 Forsyth St
STEARNS & CULVER COMPANY ERA, 1903 - 1923
This Double House is another one of the six built in Bagdad. The original Double House design accommodated two families. Each side was a mirror image of the other having two rooms on the upper floor, three rooms on the lower, and a side entry. This Double House was at one time converted to upstairs and downstairs apartments. The home was later remodeled for single family occupancy. All the porches and the addition of doors to the front side are not original to the Double House design.
Sampley - Toifel House - 4561 Forsyth St
STEARNS & CULVER COMPANY ERA, 1903 - 1923
This Four-Square style home, built around 1908, is one of three along Forsyth St. The basic floor plan for this style consists of four rooms with no center hall downstairs and four rooms upstairs. Three of these homes remain but each has a different style porch. This Four Square has a two-story porch extending the length of the home and a rear extension which housed the original kitchen.
(Right) This Four-Square style home features a rear extension which housed the original kitchen. Offsetting this room helped protect the main house from frequent kitchen fires.
Ates - Krebs House - 4545 Forsyth St
STEARNS & CULVER COMPANY ERA, 1903 - 1923
This house is another example of a Four-Square style home on Forsyth St. The basic floor plan consists of four rooms with no center hall downstairs and four rooms upstairs. This house features a gable-roofed porch that extends the length of the home which differs from the porch styles of the other two Four Square style houses along the street. The kitchen was attached to the rear of the home where offsetting this room helped protect the main house from frequent kitchen fires.
A Florida Heritage Site
Bagdad United Methodist Church - 4540 Forsyth St
SIMPSON & COMPANY ERA, 1866 - 1903
This church had its beginnings in 1830 under a brush arbor beside the Blackwater River. Their first sanctuary was built near this site in 1837. After a devastating fire, the owners of the Bagdad Sash and Blind Factory donated the property on Forsyth St to the congregation. The present Gothic Revival style building was erected in 1883 using lumber from the Bagdad mill. It features hand-cut woodwork and an intricate latticed tower where the bell is housed.
(Above) The Bagdad United Methodist Church is an example of Gothic Revival style. Its design incorporates a steeply pitched roof, gabled edges, and use of curvilinear lines in finials, brackets, and corbels.
Previous to 1909, oil lamps and a huge wood-coal heater gave light and warmth to the sanctuary. It was then wired for electrical power supplied by the mill. In 1912, lighting struck the steeple damaging it and the bell tower. A new bell was purchased from a West Virginia foundry and has continued to summon worshipers to services each Sabbath for over 100 years.
Bagdad United Methodist Church is one of four Florida Heritage Sites in the historic Village of Bagdad recognizing its historic and architectural significance.
Adams - Black House - 4528 Forsyth St
STEARNS & CULVER COMPANY ERA, 1903 - 1923
This house is one of four Bagdad Saltbox style houses on Forsyth St. These homes are a local variation of the Saltbox style, incorporating porches and half-stories on the second floor. They have gabled roofs with a short roof pitch on the front and a longer roof pitch on the back. The basic floor plan consists of four rooms downstairs with no center hall and two rooms upstairs. This house features a wrap-around porch which differs from the porch styles of the other three Bagdad Saltbox houses along the street.
The Gang Mill Bell - 4529 Forsyth St
BAGDAD LAND & LUMBER COMPANY ERA, 1923 - 1945
This bell hung in the Bagdad Land & Lumber Company's gang mill belfry until 1926. From there, it was dismantled and placed in a new belfry atop the old school house which originally sat on this property. The congregation of Bagdad's First Baptist Church remodeled the wooden building, making it their new church. In June of 1926, the new church building was dedicated. The bell tolled for forty-five minutes while church members marched from the old church to the new one in an impressive candlelight service. The choir led the procession singing "When They Ring Those Golden Bells."
(Above) The Gang Mill Bell from the Bagdad Land & Lumber Company is displayed on the grounds of the First Baptist Church of Bagdad.
(Above) This is a close-up of the Gang Mill Bell. At the mill, the bell tolled every hour and half hour. It also rang for Sunday services and as a fire alarm to alert the community.
F Bag Un Meth Ch
F Dbl Hs
F Dble Pen
F Creole
F Thompson Hs
F Gang Mill Bell
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