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The Viele House may be toured by visitors as a house museum reflecting
the life of the first settlers of the Everglades in the early 20th
century. It was first conceived in 1912, when Harry Viele hired William
Griffin, a carpenter from Fort Lauderdale, for $2.50 a day to begin
building a two-story structure made of Dade County Pine and Red River
Cypress. The 4230 square foot house was elevated 5 feet in preparation
for flooding and has a fireplace. The original gable roof was destroyed
in the 1926 Hurricane and was replaced by the current hip roof.
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Photo courtesy of
Bob Eighmie, Miami Herald
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Harry and Helen Viele were very involved in the development of Davie's civic and
religious community. Harry was a supervisor for the Davie Farm Sub-Drainage
District, which was responsible for maintaining the dikes and canals.
Helen was involved in many women's organizations including the Davie
Women's Club and the Davie Methodist Church. Viele Citrus Groves was
among the largest plantation in Broward County; first planted in 1912,
it wasn't open to the public until the early 1980's.
The Viele House is the oldest residential structure remaining in Davie
and remains an excellent example of vernacular architecture. Moreover,
the house is unique even among Broward's early pioneer homes because
of its large size and permanent construction. It survived the hurricane
of 1926, the floods of 1947, and the more recent development explosion
in western Broward County.
Relocated from its original site at 6990 Griffin Road (corner of SW
70th Avenue and Griffin Road) to the site of Old Davie School Historical
Museum, the Viele House has been restored to the era of 1930s. The
restoration included structural repairs to floors and walls and the
exterior porch, window repairs and replacement, plaster repairs, new
roofing, sanding and refinishing floors, installation of new electrical
service and wiring, and installation of air conditioning/climate control
system.
| Waldrep replacing the roof |
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| New windows and doors being installed |
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Funding for the restoration was provided through grants from the State
of Florida, Division of Historical Resources and the Town of Davie.
The house was moved by Modern House & Building Movers and the
restoration was conducted by McCartney-Williams Construction. Waldrep
& Sons donated materials and labor for the roof.
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