1045 E Cumberland Street - Built 1925
Uncovering Lakeland's Hidden Histories: Revisiting 1045 E Cumberland Street!
Today's story is the first of a new series focusing on homes that already have their Century Home marker, but whose stories deserve a deeper dive. We are taking a step back to bring the history of these homes up to par with the detailed narratives we've been sharing. Our first revisited home is the beautiful 1045 E Cumberland Street.
This home has a history full of brief but fascinating early occupants, followed by two long-term families who have made it an anchor in the community for decades.
The Early Years: A Time of Turnover
The first occupants were T. Harris & May T. Burruss, who moved in around 1925. Harris and his business partner, Elvy Callaway, were attorneys with a law firm on the third floor of the historic Spencer-Futch Building in downtown Lakeland. The Burruss family did not stay long, moving the following year to north Dixieland and apparently investing in an apartment building at 320 Cannon Street that still stands today. The second owners were Joseph H. & Celia Friedman, who owned a dry goods shop at 219 N. Kentucky Avenue. They remained for a handful of years, but perhaps a victim of the Depression, the shop and the Friedmans disappear from Lakeland by 1931.
W. Eugene & Edith J. Melson showed up in 1931 and were also a small business family. Eugene was partnered with Grover Stafford, operating the Melson-Stafford Specialty Garage at 219 N. Kentucky Avenue. They moved to Pennsylvania Avenue after only a brief time, but the Melson business remained at least through the 1970s. By 1940, it was owned and operated by the Melsons, with their son, Floyd, working as a mechanic and later as the service manager. The shop, which relocated a few times before settling at 215 W Pine Street, finally dissolved in 1980 with Floyd as the owner.
The home saw a few more short-term occupants. By 1934, Robert F. & Sadie E. Boyd moved in, but the house was vacant by 1936. Then, in 1938, Herndon P. & Mary A. Coloney moved in. Herndon was noted as an "assistant division engineer," a position that suggests a connection to the railroad or county, but their quick departure the following year makes the railroad more likely.
Decades of Stewardship
Finally, a trend seen in many of Lakeland’s historic homes began to emerge: long-term ownership. At the very end of the 1930s, Byron J. & Lula J. Both moved in, and they remained for nearly twenty years. At the time, both were about sixty-three years of age. Byron had a long career in Olean, New York, as a ticket master for the Pennsylvania Railroad before starting a second career in insurance. He and a partner named Branch started an insurance company, which still operates today as Both, Branch & Hendrix, Inc. While living in Lakeland, neither of their occupations were noted, suggesting they may have been in retirement. Byron passed away in 1956, and Lula remained until her passing in 1958.
After a few years with another short-term resident, Hattie H. Humphreys, the home entered its next era of long-term ownership.
For the next sixty years, there would only be two more owners. Dr. Thomas & Barbara Y. Willard moved in after Thomas secured his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1964 and took a teaching position at Florida Southern College. After over twenty years, they sold the home to its current owners, Dr. Robert & Diane Baum. Bob, with a Ph.D. in Biology, also came to teach at Florida Southern. Now in their fourth decade in the home, the Baums have been loving their home, and even in retirement, they both continue to teach privately.
The story of 1045 E Cumberland Street is a wonderful example of how these homes, after a period of early turnover, often found long-term stewards who became vital parts of the community.