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Strawberry Mansion history. . .Nannie McBride was born in Clark County, Illinois, in 1847 and lived in Albion, New York, until her marriage to John B. Lee in 1894. Nannie and her husband arrived in Melbourne in 1905 and began construction of the house which they would affectionately refer to as the "The Terrace." The house was also sometimes known as "Lily Tidwell's House" after the Lees' adopted daughter, Lillian.At first Nannie and John were winter residents only, but soon the house became Nannie Lee's permanent home. She took an active interest in community affairs, and the house was the site of numerous social, religious, and civic functions, many of which were recorded in the Melbourne Times. In 1918, the Times reports that Nannie played hostess to a marine aviator scouting suitable landing fields along the East Coast of Florida. After landing in a field west of Melbourne, he was invited to the house for one of Nannie's chicken dinners. When Nannie Lee died in 1929, the Melbourne Times remembered her this way: "A splendid character, a loving, motherly woman, whose kindly ministrations gladdened many hearts during her life, and whose passing will be mourned by many." Because it was so well contructed, Nannie Lee's house served as one of the community's major shelters during hurricanes. Family and friends regarded it not only as a happy gathering place for special occasions but also as a quiet refuge from the storm. These qualities have survived the years and remain among the special charms of the Strawberry Mansion, which opened as a restaurant in 1981. |
