Built tough

Grant Historical Society members Cheri Bedford and Christine Williams greet visitors at the front of Bensen House. MARIA SONNENBERG

Grant Historical House is filled with pioneer spirit

Brevard Zoo volunteers and staff recently restored the shoreline by Bensen House as part of the zoo’s Restore our Shores program. MARIA SONNENBERG

Some buildings — like some people — seem to be more fortunate than others. Bensen House, aka the Grant Historical House, is one of the lucky ones.

Many a bigger, newer and grander structure in Florida has fallen prey to the weather or development. But this modest Florida vernacular cottage on U.S. Highway 1 has managed to sidestep the slings and arrows of the passage of time and keeps amassing love — even after 109 years.

On a recent Monday morning, a cadre of Brevard Zoo volunteers and staff — part of the zoo’s Restore our Shores program — were busy at work on the shoreline in front of the sparklingly white house at Fisherman’s Landing Park in Grant. 

“We love the synergy between environmental and historic preservation,” said Heather Stapleton, of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, which is funding the restoration of the Bensen House shoreline.

Visitors ambled by the home and grounds, enjoying the killer views. “When you’re out here, it’s always a good day,” said Barefoot Bay resident Jack Durzynski, who visits often with his pup, Tasha. Inside the house, half a dozen members of the Grant Historical Society were busy showing off the treasures of an old home that is obviously well looked after and well loved. 

Brevard’s historical homes, such as Lawndale and Green Gables, reflect the area’s history from the vantage point of the county’s more affluent residents. Bensen House, on the other hand, is a piece of the county’s history that belonged to pioneers of modest means, subsisting in an environment that was not kind.

Dressed to impress in period costume are Grant Historical Society members Stephanie Graham, Colleen Hribal, Pam Dickerson, Christine Williams, George Dickerson, Diane Nelson, Jean Allan and Peggy Gibson. TOM WILBY

NEW ARRIVALS

Clara Bensen’s wedding dress, which she sewed, is on display. TOM WILBY PHOTOS

Atley Bensen and his brother, Adolph, made a living from fishing, growing pineapples and running Jorgensen General Store, which opened in 1894. [Fun fact: The general store is now popular restaurant Rib City.] The Bensen brothers were part of the area’s first European families: A micro-community of Danish emigres who, after settling in the colder climes of Michigan, Wisconsin or Minnesota, made their way to Brevard. Many were lured by newspaper ads in Danish, touting the easy living along the banks of the Indian River Lagoon.

The ads conveniently failed to mention the bugs, gators, storms and freezes. Nevertheless, the Bensens prevailed. In 1916, Atley plunked down $1,200 to purchase the precut lumber that would eventually become a 1,200-square-foot home for his bride, Clara Christensen, daughter of another pioneer family. He paid a dollar per square foot for a river-view residence, overlooking an island — not a bad deal. 

The little Cracker cottage has had deep connections with the Indian River since before it was even built: A riverboat ferried its yellow pine lumber from Jacksonville to the shoreline, about 300 feet south of First Street in Grant. 

The Bensens raised three boys in the two-bedroom house. While indoor plumbing was a luxury that didn’t arrive until decades later, the Bensens did have a grand view of Grant Island from their outhouse at the end of a long dock. 

During WWII, Atley survived serving aboard the USS Lexington, which sank in the pivotal Battle of the Coral Sea. He passed away in 1961. Clara died in 1981. Son Russell wanted to build a new house on the lot, so he donated the cottage to the Grant Historical Society. In 1985, the house was again on the move — this time by trailer — to its current location at the county park, thanks to a $45,000 donation from the Grant Community Club. The house became a museum in 1987, after more than two years of renovation, primarily by volunteers.

The parlor at Bensen House is the largest room in the modest two-bedroom cottage by the shores of the Indian River.

CONSTANT CARE

Bensen House docent Williams explains the workings of Clara Bensen’s slow cooker, considered state-of-the-art in its day. A schoolteacher and mother of active boys, Bensen knew the importance of time management and started dinner the night before. MARIA SONNENBERG

While the home sits on county property, it’s cared for and managed by the Grant Historical Society. Old houses need constant attention, and Bensen House is no exception. There is a cadre of “house parents,” in the form of the historical society. Current president Cheri Bedford grew up in Grant and still lives there. A distant relative of the Bensen clan, Bedford exudes motherly affection when referring to the place. 

“The house connects us with our history,” she said.

An old photograph shows Bedford playing in front of the Grant Railroad Depot, which, like the Bensen House, has led a somewhat charmed life. The yellow building, once located behind the general store, was moved to Valkaria Airport before moving once again, this time adjacent to Bensen House at Fisherman’s Park. The historical society is currently renovating the structure.

“We would like it to be a museum, possibly a fishing museum,” Bedford said. 

Like Bensen House, the depot reveals a slice of life in Brevard’s early days. The railroad allowed the area to grow by providing easy access to necessary items like building materials, coal and animal feed. It also connected the community to the rest of the world through regular mail delivery — although not without glitches. According to the National Postal Museum, mail delivery in these types of stations utilized a two-part process, with the clerk snagging the outgoing mail onto a catcher arm on the train and kicking the incoming mail bag into the station. If the clerk didn’t put enough oomph in his kick, the bag would get trapped beneath the wheels of the train and burst open, creating a blizzard of letters.

The dock in front of Bensen House invites visitors to enjoy the riverscape around them. When the house was first built, a similar dock led to the outhouse.

KEEPSAKES

Among the items on display is the 1874 steamer trunk that one of Grant’s earliest residents, Lars Jorgensen, used to travel from his native Denmark. TOM WILBY PHOTOS

Inside the Bensen House, visitors can get a look at the day-to-day life of the type of hardworking family that shaped the county. Some artifacts on display are surprisingly modern, such as the slow cooker used by busy mom, Clara, who also taught school.

“She would start the meals the night before, because she had to get up very early in the morning,” said docent Christine Williams, who leads tours of the home.

Clara was also an accomplished seamstress, as evidenced by the wedding dress she sewed for herself. The dress is on display in the house’s main bedroom, along with antiques such as a 1659 Bible and the steamer trunk that once belonged to Grant postmaster Lars Jorgensen — a man responsible for significantly increasing the size of the town. “When he moved to Grant, he brought along three families with him, tripling the population,” said historical society member George Dickerson.

In the Bensen boys’ bedroom, docents point out a couple of antique piggy banks with the coin slot still covered by clay. Owners of the inexpensive savings vessels were supposed to open the slots to start saving. There’s a very good reason that isn’t what happened in the Bensen household. “They had no money to put in,” Bedford said. 

Speaking of money, operating the house museum is made possible through fundraisers such as the Pioneer Fish Fry, which will be held at the park Oct. 11; support from the Grant Seafood Festival; from private donations; and from the sale of crafts. “Crafts is one of our biggest sources of support,” said Karen Schafer, who helps to orchestrate the volunteer crafters’ efforts. 

Jean Allan’s forte is keeping the home neat and tidy. She’s often there by herself, but she has never witnessed the return of long-gone residents. “I’m still waiting,” she said.

Bensen House has earned a thumbs up from the Florida Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, which checked the place for ghosts. “Everything they found was friendly,” Bedford said. ‘The spirits may just be content to enjoy the surroundings, just as the living do.” 

“If you judge wealth by happiness, they were very wealthy,” Dickerson said.

The bathroom at Bensen House was a later addition and a nod to luxury. Enjoying indoor plumbing was a blessing for the family, who relied on the outhouse for years. TOM WILBY

Grant Historical House

5795 U.S. 1, Grant-Valkaria, at Fisherman’s Landing Park

Hours: The house is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The grounds are open 8 a.m. to dusk.

Admission: There is no charge for admission, but donations are welcome.

More information: 321.723.8543

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