Press Release: Secretary Byrd Announces the Designation of the John H. Evans House in the National Register of Historic Places

Tallahassee, Fla. –

Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced today that the John H. Evans House, in the City of Lake Alfred, Polk County, has been listed in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

“I am pleased to announce that the John H. Evans House has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places,” said Secretary of State Cord Byrd. “This house is one of the few, original, intact historic residences in the City of Lake Alfred and is an excellent example of the Craftsman Style.”

John H. Evans House in 2021. Photograph by Gordon McNeer, the home’s current owner.

Lake Alfred is a small city located between Lakeland and Orlando in Central Florida. In 1885, the South Florida Railroad developed a route through the area. Soon after, citrus growers established groves along the shores of the region’s many lakes. Residents incorporated the city in 1913 and first named it Fargo. In 1915, the city’s name changed to Lake Alfred.

Built in 1924, the John H. Evans House is located just outside of Lake Alfred’s business district. It has been owned by three generations of the same family, who have preserved many of its original features. Evans owned the FloridaGold citrus company and served as its company president from 1929 to 1948. The citrus company’s office building is still standing and today serves as headquarters for Lake Alfred’s Chamber of Commerce.

The John H. Evans House sits on Lake Buena Vista Drive and overlooks rows of recently planted citrus trees and the city’s namesake body of water, Lake Alfred. The house is a well-preserved example of a two-story Craftsman Style residence. Distinct Craftsman elements of the house include triangular knee braces, broad roof eaves, exposed rafter tails, large dormer windows, distinctive multi-paned windows, wide porches, and square columns. A porch wraps around the south and east sides of the house. The home’s interior is also well-preserved by the family and retains its original wooden floors, historic furnishings, and appliances. The house remains in private ownership by Evans’ descendants.

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About The National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is a list maintained by the National Park Service which includes historical or archaeological properties including buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts, that are considered worthy of preservation because of their local, statewide and/or national significance. Nominations for properties in Florida are submitted to the National Park Service through the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources. Florida has over 1,700 listings on the National Register, including 295 historic districts and 175 archaeological sites. There are more than 50,000 sites contributing to the National Register in Florida. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation/national-register. For more information about the National Register of Historic Places program administered by the National Park Service, visit nps.gov/nr.

About The Florida Department of State’s Bureau of Historic Preservation

The Bureau of Historic Preservation (BHP) conducts historic preservation programs aimed at identifying, evaluating, preserving, and interpreting the historic and cultural resources of the state. The Bureau manages the Florida Main Street Program, and under federal and state laws, oversees the National Register of Historic Places program for Florida, maintains an inventory of the state's historical resources in the Florida Master Site File, assists applicants in federal tax benefit and local government ad valorem tax relief programs for historic buildings, and reviews the impact that development projects may have on significant historic resources. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation.