S.B STEPHENS HOUSE

The S.B. Stephens House carries the story of one of Gadsden County’s earliest and most distinguished legal and civic families. Colonel Samuel B. Stephens came with his family from New Bern, North Carolina to the Florida Territory circa 1836 — he assisted in writing Florida’s first Constitution and signed the ordinance of secession, making him a figure of both founding significance and historical complexity.

The house was originally located in the middle of the block set back from the street, with Stephens’s law office near the sidewalk. Over the years, at least six people owned the house, and it was moved to the northeast corner of its block. In 1975, Mr. and Mrs. William Lester completed a major renovation. The house is constructed of solid heartwood and includes its original windows and doors — a remarkable degree of material integrity for a structure of its age.

The S.B. Stephens House stands as a tangible connection to the very earliest years of Florida’s organized government, a reminder that Quincy and Gadsden County were at the center of Florida’s territorial political life in the crucial decades before statehood and the Civil War.