Porcher House
Posted by: 
overrover
N 28° 21.229 W 080° 43.502
17R E 526946 N 3136428
One of the most historic buildings is the Porcher (pronounced "poor-shay`")House. The Porcher family were Brevard's largest citrus growers, and Mr. Porcher was the first to wash, inspect and grade his citrus crop. His wife had her own career as the first postmistress of Merritt Island.
Waymark Code: WMHPT
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/19/2006
Views: 67
The Porcher House was the grandest home in Cocoa and stands today as a classic example of twentieth century classic revival style architecture interpreted in local coquina rock. It was originally built with 10 bedrooms, 4 baths, a full attic and cellar.
Edward Porcher came to this area as a young man in the late 1800s from his home in South Carolina. After a short stay in the area of Cocoa he bought property on Merritt Island where he and wife Byrnina Peck of Atlanta settled and began to raise citrus fruit and a family. In 1895 the Porchers moved into a 3-story wood frame house which stood where the Cocoa Civic Center now stands.
Edward became very successful with Deerfield Groves and is credited with being the first grower to grade fruit for shipping. He also invented a machine to wash the fruit, and was a founder of the Indian River Orange Growers Association. The groves were on Merritt Island and the fruit was brought by boat to a dock which was in the back of the house. It was then transported by railroad from Cocoa. Mrs. Porcher was the first Post-mistress of Merritt Island.
Construction started on this home in 1914 following Mrs. Porchers design. Her love of the game of Bridge prompted her to have stones cut to represent the suits of cards and placed in the front of the house. The home was completed and the Porcher family moved in on October 31, 1916.
The Porcher House is an excellent example of 20th century classical revival architecture, adapted to the Florida climate. The house was originally built with ten bedrooms and four and one-half baths and made from native coquina rock. The staircase is made of teak, the floor is oak, and the wainscoting and trim are cedar. Parts of the house are original and others are accurate restorations and some are new.
The Porcher family lived in the home until after World War II. In August of 1948, the Porcher House became a restaurant and was renamed Chip-Ahoy. The City of Cocoa obtained the home from the family in the early 1950s and it became City Hall. It has also been a hotel and home for boys. From 1980 to 1988 the house was vacant. The Porcher House was restored with money from two state grants as well as funding from the City of Cocoa.
It was returned to its original beauty when the City of Cocoa received a grant in 1987 for restoration. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is used for weddings, business meetings, family gatherings, engagement parties and many other events and celebrations. It can accommodate up to 200 people and seat up to 80. The Porcher House is open for public visits Monday through Friday. 9am - 5pm. Evenings and weekends it is closed for special events. For more information call (407) 639-3500.
The city of Cocoa has issued this statement regarding the Porcher House:
“The Porcher House is being renovated starting July 3, 2006. The house is a historic home with some damage that needs to be repaired. The damages are nothing that will deter the events we currently have scheduled in the building until July and will not deter us from booking more events throughout the upcoming months. We invite everyone to come out and visit the house before the renovations begin. The renovations are scheduled to last about 6 months. Thank you so much for your patience throughout this process. The Civic Center and Riverfront Park will be available throughout the renovation process and we look forward to being able to host your events at these facilities. For any questions or for more information on booking an event at any of our facilities, please feel free to contact us at 321-639-3500.”