Nestled away in a tiny corner of Downtown Brooksville lies a little gem that is the talk of the city called the “Brooksville Heritage Museum”; AKA “The May-Stringer House”. This beautiful seven gable house has a history behind it that was almost lost to development back in the late 1970s early 1980s but now is a bustling attraction for visitors from all over the globe to see.
The May-Stringer house is named after the two prominent families that lived there and developed it. The first being John May who acquired the home in the mid 1850s, from a man who received the land from the 1842 Armed Occupation Act which gave 160 free acres of land to anyone that would farm 5 acres of land, live on the property for 5 years and keep the Native Americans off the land. The other was Dr. Stringer who purchased the home from Frank Saxon and developed it as you see today, a far cry from the 4 room structure John May built.
But this house was filled with tragedy. John May died in the house from consumption only five years after he purchased and built the home. His wife Marlena would work continue running the farm till she met Confederate Soldier and war hero Frank Saxon in 1866. Frank and Marlena got married and had a son that died as an infant. They would later give birth to Jessie May Saxon but Marlena would die from childbirth complications. At the age of 3 Jessie May would die as well. Grieving Frank would meet Tulula Hope and marry her. She didn’t want to live in the house so he built her a mansion just a few blocks from the May-Stringer house called the “Saxon Manor” today. Frank would sell the home to Dr. Stringer and the area became developed.
The Stringer family would live here till the 1970s when the last Stringer grandchild sold it to a developer who let it go into the ground. It was basically condemned when Virginia would save it from being bulldozed to the ground and turned the home into what we now know as the “Brooksville Heritage Museum.”.
The house is filled with period artifacts that were donated to the museum by the town of Brooksville. Some items returned to the house and are on display in the parlor. This 14 room mansion is a work of art within itself and a time capsule to the past. From Tuesday to Saturday tours are given through the museum by docents, one of with is Emma Dowd! She is there every Friday from 11 AM to 3 PM (Eastern) giving tours and being passionate about preserving the past and wonderful works of architecture. At night there are ghost tours since the house is one of the most haunted locations in Florida. It’s been seen on Kindered Spirits and TAPS Ghost Hunters.
Emma volunteered at the house in 2009 for a brief period, she left because of health reasons and work schedule conflicts but now she’s home as she says doing something she loves doing and giving back to the community.
“Between 2009 and now I would come to the house and sit on the porch when they were closed just to feel the energy, it called me! If you ever seen my art a lot of it was inspired by this house, and the city of Brooksville in general. I always believe we should preserve houses like this and keep them authentic, they tell stories and my god if walls could talk this house will be able to give a three hour lecture. I am SO happy to be back and I hope the tours I give will be uplifting, full of knowledge and fun for those who toured with me”.
601 Museum Ct, Brooksville, FL 34601
