John Morgan Ingraham House Museum

In 1883, Arcadia became the name of the post office for a frontier settlement on Peace River’s eastern shore, and John Morgan Ingraham was born. In 1885, he moved with his family to the Fisheating Creek area, now in Glades County. In 1919, he bought the house at 300 N. Monroe and lived there until his death in 1980. A local entrepreneur, he represented DeSoto County for two terms in the State legislature (1944-1948). His wife Maude Stribling Ingraham (1883-1929) worked as an enumerator for the 1920 U.S. Census in Arcadia.

With a double-backed fireplace, two-hole outhouse, and a pitcher-pump on the shelf outside the kitchen door, the house was built in the late 1800s by Robert Early Whidden, a cattleman, citrus grower, and business-man. The structure was designed, so the interior would be as cool as possible, featuring high ceilings, walls with doors and windows centered for cross-ventilation, plus porches serving as hallways. About 1906, “knob and tube” electricity was installed in the house, and later, city water and sewer service were added. The Ingraham family enclosed the south porch with a wooden lattice and installed a bathtub and commode in one corner, but the original floor plan remained essentially unchanged.

The Ingraham House is named for Mr. John Morgan Ingraham who lived there from 1919, until his death at age 96, on February 29, 1980. Mr. Ingraham represented DeSoto County in the State Legislature from 1945-1949 and was highly respected by his legislative peers.  He joined in passing the “fence law” which ended the “open range” in Florida, funding the creation of G. Pierce Wood Memorial Hospital, and participating in the establishment of Everglades National Park. On December 6, 1947, he attended the Park’s dedication by President Harry Truman.

Upon Mr. Ingraham’s death, Tom and Marguerite Hankins purchased the home from his heirs and donated the property in honor of Marguerite’s mother Alison Rosemary Pickard Pipkin to the DeSoto County Historical Society on April 20, 2001.

In 2002, volunteers worked to restore the house with funds donated by the community. In 2004, Hurricane Charley wrecked the house beyond the Society’s ability and finances to repair it. From 2007 to 2010, the Society applied for—and received—four grants for restoration totaling $158,000 from the Florida Department of State Division of Historic Resources, and $40,000 from The Mosaic Company Foundation in 2012.

This structure is an excellent example of an unaltered, turn-of-the-century “Florida Cracker House.” The Society showcases this property as a memorial to all early pioneer families. The museum displays period furniture and furnishings—some of which belonged to the Ingraham family–as well as information about Arcadia and DeSoto County. The Society continues to add new displays and information.