Walsingham House

Walsingham House. Built: 1915 Moved: 1984. , An Earlier Time , Jesse Walsingham came to central Pinellas in the mid 1890s. The young man fell in love with Mary O'Quinn, a member of the McMullen and O'Quinn pioneer families. They exchanged vows and settled in the Largo area before starting a family. For the next 30 years, Jesse engaged in various occupations: he traveled the peninsula delivering ice, operated a meat and citrus packinghouse, managed a hardware store, worked as a butcher and sold fertilizer. , Building on their Success , When it was 'king,' Jesse was a leading truck farmer delivering his crops to regional markets. He grew strawberries, potatoes, cabbage, eggplant and navy beans plus come citrus. Jesse purchased land in 1913 and two years later the family moved into their newly built home. It was the center of their agricultural, commercial and civic activities including Jesse's leadership of the Largo Truck Growers Association, the effort to form a separate county in western Hillsborough and the Pinellas County Fair. In 1929 they sold this home but continued to live in the area. In later years the new owners rented rooms to boarders. , Fairly Successful at the Fair , In 1916 Mary Walsingham and others in the Woman's Club of Largo planted the idea for the first successful fair for the new county of Pinellas. The Walsinghams won many medals for their prized produce. As the fair grew Jesse became its first general manager in 1928, a position he held until 1935. , Residence on the Ridge , When built, this house dominated the landscape in a sparsely settled area of the peninsula. It combines ornamental, rusticated concrete blocks on the lower floor with a wood framed second story. Tenants used the rear stairs in later years when it was rental property. , , Tidbits from Time , An Ear Full , Sumter Walsingham followed in his father Jesse's footsteps as a farmer. Sumter made front page news in 1917 as a Largo Agricultural School student and 'Corn Club' member, for his club project, he produced nearly 50 bushels of corn on an acre of land. , A Familiar Name , Walsingham Road and Walsingham Park are named for this family.