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Edward Porcher came to this area as a young man in the late 1800s from his home in South Carolina. After a short stay in the area of Cocoa he bought property on Merritt Island where he and wife Byrnina Peck of Atlanta settled and began to raise citrus fruit and a family. In 1895 the Porchers moved into a 3-story wood frame house which stood where the Cocoa Civic Center now stands.
Edward became very successful with Deerfield Groves and is credited with being the first grower to grade fruit for shipping. He also invented a machine to wash the fruit, and was a founder of the Indian River Orange Growers Association.
Construction started on this home in 1914 following Mrs. Porcher's design. Her love of the game of Bridge prompted her to have stones cut to represent the suits of cards and placed in the front of the house. The home was completed and the Porcher family moved in on October 31, 1916.
The Porcher House is an excellent example of 20th century classical revival architecture, adapted to the Florida climate. The house was originally built with ten bedrooms and four and one-half bath and made from native coquina rock. The staircase is made of teak, the floor is oak, and the wainscoting and trim are cedar. Parts of the house are original and others are accurate restorations and some are new. |