Joseph Green House

The Joseph Green House was a historic two-story home in Orange Park, Florida. It was the oldest building of Orange Park's black community, located at 531 McIntosh Avenue. On July 15, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, becoming the Register's only minority-owned property in Clay County at the time.[3] The following year, it was demolished.[3]

Not to be confused with Joseph Green Farmhouse.
Joseph Green House
Site of former house, which was demolished in 1999
LocationOrange Park, Clay County, Florida
Coordinates30°10′2″N 81°42′22″W
Area1,250 sq. ft.[1]
Built1893
Demolished1999
MPSOrange Park, Florida MPS
NRHP reference No.98000860[2]
Added to NRHPJuly 15, 1998

Green was a black carpenter from Mississippi who settled in Orange Park around 1886 and built this home in 1893.[4][5] He built in total 15 homes in the area, of which this was the last to remain.[6] His daughter-in-law sold the home to St. James AME Church for $30,000 in 1994.[7] The church then used it as a rental property,[4] so it was not open for public tours.[1]

AME Churches in Florida, the parent church of the local congregation, sued a number of local congregants to gain ownership of the property.[7] The parent church's bishop said the local church had promised to build a new sanctuary on that spot, so he agreed to drop the lawsuit on the condition that the home be demolished.[3]

References
  1. Atwood, Mary; Weeks, William; Wood, Wayne W. (2014). Historic Homes of Florida's First Coast. The History Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-62619-726-8.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Historic house faces demolition, Caren Burmeister, Jacksonville Times-Union, April 19, 1999, accessed January 16, 2012: "A 106-year-old house, all that remains of an African-American settlement in Orange Park, is poised for demolition."
  4. "Examples of Properties Listed in the National Register Under Criteria Considerations". October 13, 2000.
  5. Division of Historical Resources (2002). Florida Black Heritage Trail. Tallahassee: Fla. Dept. of State. p. 18.
  6. "Town history recognized". Jacksonville Times-Union. August 22, 1998.
  7. Church sues over historic site, Caren Burmeister, Jacksonville Times-Union, 3/23/99. Retrieved 7/8/11.


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