Grant Historical House

1916 House at Fisherman’s Landing

The home of Clara Christensen Bensen arrived by riverboat from Jacksonville, Florida precut for assembly in 1916.  The purchase price was $1200 unassembled.

Clara and her husband Atley with their two older sons, Atley Jr. and Russell, lived in the house until the boys were school age.  Clara had been a schoolteacher and felt the need to move to Melbourne so that the boys could gain a better education and participate more fully in school activities.  A third son, Edward Hartman, was born in Melbourne in 1928.  The house was rented for a period of about five years, until the Bensen family returned to Grant.  Atley Bensen passed away in 1961, and Clara continued to live in the house until age and failing health necessitated a move to a Tampa nursing home.  At that time the house was again rented.

With the melding of these two historical assets a 1916 house and the site of Grant’s first house, the Grant Historical Society developed plans to insure the preservation of a bit of the history in our area.

The addition of air conditioning, burglar and fire alarms and additional electrical work were necessary to protect historical gifts and to meet public building codes.  With these exceptions in mind, you will find the well-preserved house, built of yellow pine, portrays a simple beauty very typical of the area.

Clara Christensen Bensen died in the nursing home May 6, 1981 at the age of 88.  Russell Bensen donated the 1916 house to the Grant Community Center and the Grant Historical Society, October 25, 1984 in memory of his mother Clara Christensen Bensen.

The 1916 house was moved from it’s original river site to its present location one half mile south on the Indian river which is also historically signified as the site of Grant’s first house, that of Louis Kossuth Smith, known as “Honey Smith” officially named “FISHERMAN’S LANDING."

You are welcome to visit the grounds, browse through the house, breath deep the fresh river breeze and remember how it was years ago.

The Grant Historical House will be closed during the yearly Seafood Festival in February. We apologize for any inconvenience.

See the Grant Historical House photo album here.

GRANT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
5795 U.S. 1  P.O. BOX 55
GRANT, FLORIDA 32949
(321) 723-8543