- April 18, 2024
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The chandelier shown is an original part of the house. Courtesy photo
The house has two wood and three gas fireplaces. Courtesy photo
The house was built in 1904 by Joseph Price. It’s a across the street from the Halifax River. Courtesy photo
The front veranda has brick columns. Courtesy photo
The kitchen is shown. Courtesy photo.
You can imagine carriages stopping under the porte-cochere by the large veranda and letting off guests at the wood shingle house at 311 John Anderson Drive. It looks just as it did when it was built in 1904 by Joseph Price, one of Ormond Beach’s most prominent settlers.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and an Ormond Beach historic landmark, the privately-owned home is currently for sale.
Known as “The Hammock Home,” the two-story house with clay tile roof presents a warm welcome with its brass accents on the door knobs and chandeliers; gleaming heart of pine floor; five fireplaces; and decorative woodwork and molding. French doors and large casement windows open to let the river breeze flow through.
The plumbing, electrical, etc., have been brought up to code by the owners.
The house, which reflects a colonial revival influence, stands as a reminder of the days when Ormond Beach was becoming known as a resort destination and Birthplace of Speed. The home of Price, it was a lively place, as the upstairs bedrooms often hosted guests, according to newspaper accounts.
Price, along with John Anderson, built the Ormond Hotel, which once stood on the site of the Heritage Condominiums at the corner of John Anderson Drive and Granada Boulevard. The two settlers promoted the development of the city, and Price was also credited with helping to bring the railroad and the first bridge across the river, according to historical documents.
CHILDREN COULD ‘RUN ALL OVER’
Price lived in the house until he died in 1911. His family continued to live there until it was eventually sold, and it is now owned by retired cardio-vascular surgeon Jack Arrants and his wife, Lillian. The Arrants are the third family to own it after the Prices and have lived there 36 years.
The large house, with its irregular floor plan, was great for raising children, according to Lillian Arrants. “They could run all over,” she said.
She became interested in the history of the home through the years, especially after meeting the granddaughter of Joseph Price, Mary Bell, who lived in the home as a child. The granddaughter even helped serve as host when the home was on a Historical Society Tour of Homes. She told Arrants about the orange groves and tennis courts that no longer exist. Arrants has a scrapbook of historical articles and newspaper clippings.
The five-bedroom house, with 9,906 total square feet, sits on two acres with a swimming pool. The property includes a vacant 100x160-square-foot lot with a boat dock across the street on the river for the price of $2.1 million. Without the river lot, the house is listed at $1.1 million.
For information about the listing, call the listing Realtor, Janet Dannehower at Adams Cameron & Co, at 451-7070.
PRESERVING HISTORY
There was a lot of work when the Arrants bought the house. The brass had to be cleaned and a carpet covered the pine floors.
When the tile roof needed to be replaced, the Arrants found the company that originally installed it, Ludowici. When they needed more heart pine flooring, they located a mill in Florida that had retrieved old heart pine that had fallen off a barge into a canal many years ago. The clear wood, from longleaf pines, is hard to find these days, Arrants said.
While the house contains 36 years of family memories, the couple has decided to downsize, being in their retirement years.
