Stranahan
House
Now a museum restored to a 1913 configuration,
this turn-of-the-century structure nestled
among downtown skyscrapers was the New
River home of Fort Lauderdale’s
first school teacher, Ivy Cromartie
Stranahan. It was here that her husband
Frank had run a trading post, doing
business with the Seminoles. Despondent
over ravages of the hurricane of ‘26
and the market crash of ’29, Stranahan
did himself in by tying a weight to
his leg and jumping into the river.
Ivy
continued living in the house until
her death in 1971. The two-story Florida
vernacular style building, which also
has been a post office, bank and town
hall, has Ivy’s blue and white
china and pictures of Old Fort Lauderdale.
Tours, by guides in turn-of-the-century
costume, last about an hour.
Las
Olas Boulevard at Southeast Sixth
Avenue. (954) 524-4736
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