A Brief History

1809 - Originally 13 acres granted to Juan Jose Bosquet.

1815 - Don Jose Maria Bosquet inherited the land from his father, Juan Jose at which time the land had a stone building (old coquina portion) and a wood kitchen, 290 orange trees, 45 orange tree seedlings, 2 lemon trees, 20 citrons, 120 quince, 18 peach, 3 cherry, 43 pomegranate, and a handful of guava trees - all valued at 1,534 pesos at that time.

1818 - Sold to Paul Dupont (also referred to as Pablo Dupon) for 2,000 pesos.

Date Unknown - Sold to Octavius Mitchel.

1822 - Sold to Robert Mitchel who called the property, "Mitchel Grove."

Date Unknown - Sold to Theodore Flotard.

1838 - Sold to Peter Sken Smith for $5,000 who renamed the property, Yallaha, Seminole word for "orange," and subdivided out the land.

1845 - Sold to Samuel Burrit at auction for non payment of taxes by Smith for $500.

Sold in the same year to Rose Dumas, wife of Peter Dumas, then county clerk. Wood frame section of house built.

1869 - Peter Dumas died and left the land to Rose and his children, Henry B., Stella, and Rosina (Pictured right are photos of the home from 1873).

1886 - Henry Dumas dubbed the land the Dumas Tract and sold lots on Dumas, Central (now Martin Luther King), and Bridge Streets.

1893 - Sold to Michael Spades II from Indiana who also held land in Indianapolis, donating a large portion to the city, which to this day is known as Spades Park (pictured left are Spades' children in their dining room, now the library, circa 1896)

1897 - Additions made to home.

1898 - Rented to A. J. Marble.

1899 - Sold to A. J. Marble of Chicago who was one of the founders of the Art Institute of Chicago. He added an elevator to the West side of the property before passing away in 1900.