Bronson-Mulholland House

About this property

The Bronson–Mulholland House, (also known as the Judge Isaac H. Bronson House, Bronson's Point, Sunny Side, and Sunny Point), is an historic site located at 100 Madison Street, in Palatka, Florida. Sunny Point was built in 1854. On December 27, 1972, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Judge Isaac H. Bronson probably first considered moving to Palatka, Florida in 1852 when the "Palatka Tract" of about 1,220 acres was conveyed in trust to him by three prominent Palatka families – the Reids, the Carrs, and the Burts. In May 1855, Isaac and his wife Sophronia re-conveyed the tract to James Burt, excluding their estate known as Sunny Point, lands that had been sold by Bronson, and a number of lots held for Sophronia Bronson. Through the early deed and mortgage books, it is possible to pinpoint the time the Bronsons built their home in Palatka and took up residence there. The 1850 United States census and Slave Schedule reports Bronson as a resident of St. Johns County. In September 1852 Bronson is referred to as a resident of St. Augustine, Florida, whereas in the following March he is listed as a resident of Palatka. Thus we can assume that in 1853 the Bronsons decided to make Palatka their home, as in that year they also marked off 10 acres of land along the St. Johns River which they named Sunny Point. A mortgage record dated March 3, 1854 notes Sunny point as "Being the point of ground upon which said Bronson is now building and cultivating grounds." Sunny Point was removed from the mortgage on the "Palatka Tract" on October 16, 1854, being lands "set apart by the said Bronson for his own residence, and on which he has lately erected a dwelling house and other buildings." Most likely, the Bronsons spent the winter of 1854 in their new home. It is assumed that Bronson had cypress cut from lands near the mouth of the Ocklawaha River and brought to Sunny Point by raft. It is known that Bronson was part owner of the Palatka Saw Mill Company, which had a steam saw mill erected by August 1853. The lumber for the 7,199 square foot Bronson home was probably cut by that saw. The Bronsons took active roles in the development of their new home town. Judge Bronson prepared and sponsored the city charter for Palatka in the state legislature. He also petitioned that the town be made the county seat of Putnam County, Florida. Additionally, he donated the land for the county courthouse, where it still stands today. The Bronsons and their two daughters, Gertrude and Emma, were members of St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Palatka, Florida), of which Isaac Bronson was chairman and one of the first vestrymen.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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