The Raulerson House

The Raulerson House. Homeland Heritage Park. , Affluent Rural Living , This excellent example of early Polk County affluent rural living was built in the late 1880s by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Blocker of Hillsborough County. Although it might be more accurately called the Blocker-Raulerson House, the building takes its name from Daniel Amos Raulerson, who purchased it in July of 1901 and lived in it until 1912 before moving to Lakeland. He was a prospector and developer of phosphate mines, among them the Coronet Mine. J.D. Raulerson, Sr., son to Daniel Amos, served as the Polk County Clerk of the Circuit Court from 1921 to 1937. , , Architectural Notes , Of architectural interest are two rooms on the second floor, which can only be entered by the stairwell that leads up from the front porch. Such rooms were added to southern rural houses for the farm laborers and/or for the grown sons of the family, so they could come and go without disturbing the rest of the home's inhabitants. Pieces of antique furniture now inside the house were donated by the late Lillian Raulerson Jones. They have been displayed along with other furnishings of that period. , , A New Home , The Raulerson house was owned by descendants of Daniel Amos until Lakeland I-4 Properties purchased the property in 1987 and moved it to make room for an industrial park. Lillian Raulerson Jones, a daughter of Daniel Amos Raulerson, asked that it be preserved if possible. When it was moved from the Polk-Hillsborough County line west of Lakeland in 1987, the chimney was torn down. J.D. Raulerson, Jr., grandson of Daniel Amos, donated money to have the chimney replaced at the park and painted white, as it had been on the original site. The Raulerson House was the third building to be moved to Homeland Heritage Park. It arrived on March 25, 1988, as a gift from Lakeland Realtor David Bunch and Lakeland I-4 Properties. , ,