Located
at 1819 Taylor Road
in Port Orange, 1.5 miles west of I-95
Guests to Gamble
Place can step back in time to experience the same pristine
environment that James Gamble found so inviting during his first
visit to the area in the late 1800's. James N. Gamble, of the
Procter and Gamble Company and a long time winter resident of
Daytona Beach, bought this land on Spruce Creek for use as a
rural retreat. Educational tours of the grounds and buildings
built by Gamble and his family are offered jointly by Cracker
Creek and the Museum of Arts and Sciences.
Thursday to Sunday -
10 am and 1 pm
Tours for 12 or more
are available seven days per week with advance reservation
through Cracker Creek.
Tours are $5 for
adults / seniors and $3 for children 12 and under.
More about Gamble Place-
James N. Gamble: Florida's First Winter Resident
Visitors are often surprised to learn that James N. Gamble,
of Procter and Gamble fame, was responsible for the construction
of this rustic, winter home in the backwoods of western Port
Orange, Florida. Indeed, he, a wealthy Cincinnati businessman,
built his Cracker-style cottage in the middle of the county to
compliment a more luxurious seasonal estate along the Halifax
River. Features like the crescent moon cutout shutters and
rustic appearance reflect the imaginative, yet sensible,
character of James Gamble, quite possibly the first and most
persistent winter traveler to Florida.
Of Procter and Gamble Fame
James Gamble was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated
from Kenyon College in 1854. Upon the advice of his father, he
went into the manufacturing business, working his way up through
the ranks at the Procter and Gamble factory, eventually managing
the company until his retirement in 1890. It was during his
tenure as supervisor that Gamble employed a young inventor,
Thomas Edison, to solve a communications problem at the factory.
The result was the creation of the first teletype machine. It
was also during this period when the famous Ivory Soap was
invented, or rather discovered, by a workman who on his lunch
break inadvertently left a blending machine on, which beat extra
air into the soap mix.
The History of Gamble Place
A frequent winter visitor, Gamble discovered this western
Port Orange land by way of Spruce Creek in the 1890s. An avid
outdoorsman, he found that this magnificent place had much to
offer. He purchased 175 acres on April 6, 1898, from George W.
Leffman. Around 1907, Gamble built his hunting and fishing
retreat and the adjacent orange packing barn.
Gamble's fondness for rustic southern country architecture
is reflected in the design of the main house. Gamble
incorporated many Florida Cracker architectural features into
his bungalow-style design, including large, open porches, an
open breezeway, a steeply pitched, wooden shingle roof, and
large windows for cross-ventilation. The final result is a
unique, upscale version of a Cracker house. When Gamble died on
July 2, 1932, Gamble Place was willed to his two daughters,
Olivia and Maud. Maud married Judge Alfred K. Nippert, who
designed and built the nearby Snow White Cottage in 1938.
Help Save Gamble
Place by giving to the Museum of Arts & Sciences!
|
