Individual Visitors:
Open by appointment. Special events include an annual historic holiday homes tour, featuring the Matheson House and other nearby historic houses.
Group Tours:
A. Refreshments on the front porch
B. Walking tour of the neighborhood
Contact Ex. Director for group tours
Area Historic Highlights:
The House is on the edge of two historic districts with lovely Victorian mansions and “Cracker” cottages. Drive through the heart of the city to see the Hippodrome State Theater (the 1911 Post Office) and Gainesville’s historic downtown.
The Matheson House
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Built in 1867 by South Carolina emigrant James Matheson, the Matheson House sits on a small rise facing downtown Gainesville. Matheson, a merchant, and his wife Florida lived in the house for nearly 50 years; son Christopher (a 7-term Gainesville mayor) owned the house with his wife until their deaths. A unique blend of South Carolina plantation and Classic Revival raised cottage architecture, the house has Gothic decorative elements and ceiling-to-ground porch columns, which are uncommon in Florida. Inside, two generations of family furnishings help tell the Matheson’s story, and that of Gainesville itself.
Don’t Miss — Adjacent Alachua County history museum, native plant garden on site, antique tool collection
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The House is located behind the
Alachua County Historic Trust:
Matheson Museum, Inc.
513 E. University Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32601
(352) 378-2280
Matheson@gvlhistorichomes.org
www.mathesonmuseum.org