1672 Morrill Street / Col. John & Blanche Gillespie
One of the first homes constructed in the district in the 1880′s was Victorian in architecture on the south side of Morrill Street. In the early 1900′s the house was remodeled and a greenhouse was added to accommodate a bride’s love of flowers and plants. It became the residence for Sarasota’s first mayor, John Hamilton Gillespie and his wife Blanche. They named it “Roseburn” and it was their second home in Sarasota.
The Prew School occupied this building from the late 1930s until prior to its demolition in the mid 1980s.
Col. John Hamilton Gillespie and his wife, Blanche moved into one of the first homes in Laurel Park.
Gillespie was called upon to save the original colony of people who attempted to settle here under less than “desirable” conditions. He introduced the game of golf to Florida, and was the first Mayor of the Town of Sarasota.