to seek a better life during the turbulent Reconstruction Era that
followed the Civil War.
TESTAMENT TO TENACITY
He started working on Lawndale immediately, but the project took
him two decades to complete. The entrepreneur easily segued from
building conveyances to growing oranges, a business that brought
him success, despite challenges such as freezes.
“Hiram was tenacious, pushing through setback and trial,”
Lawndale volunteer Brandon McKinney said. “I think it took a
special kind of person to go through what he did and keep going.
The house he built is a testament to his tenacity. It's more than
just a pretty house, it's really the spirit of what brought people
here, and how they pushed through.”
Under the Lawndale label, Williams shipped crate after crate of the
fruit he grew on the hundreds of acres that surrounded the home.
In his heyday, Williams owned groves that stretched from U.S. 1 to
Rockledge Drive.
“He helped to establish Central Brevard as a center for fruit packing,”
Pope said.
A REAL GO-GETTER
A self-made man, Williams was not one to take it easy. He was
Rockledge’s first postmaster, the county treasurer in the mid-1880s
and eventually a state senator.
70: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
Carole Pope, president of Preservation and Education Trust, left, stands
with Margaret Rainwater at the bottom of the stairs of Lawndale, the home
her grandfather, H >> .S. Williams, built in the late 1800s.
Members of the
Lawndale trust
helped restore
the men’s parlor,
which features
period-appropriate
furnishings.
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