The August Seven and Gamble Place
... all a bit of Florida history.
James Gamble was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Kenyon College in 1854. Upon the advice of his father, he went into the family manufacturing business, working his way up through the ranks at the Procter and Gamble factory, eventually managing the company until his retirement in 1890. It was during his tenure as supervisor that Gamble employed a young inventor, Thomas Edison, to solve a communications problem at the factory. The result was the creation of the first teletype machine. It was also during this period when the famous Ivory Soap was invented, or rather discovered, by a workman who on his lunch break inadvertently left a blending machine on, which beat extra air into the soap mix.
A frequent winter visitor to Florida, Gamble built several homes. "Gamble Place" being one of the main houses, with August Seven built originally as a guest house in 1896. Like "Gamble Place," it has since been carefully restored and listed on the National Historic Register.
Gamble came to build his extensive "Florida get-away" when he discovered some western Port Orange land by way of Spruce Creek in the 1890s. An avid outdoorsman, he found that this magnificent place had much to offer. He purchased the 175 acres for Gamble Place on April 6, 1898, from George W. Leffman. Around 1907, Gamble built a hunting and fishing retreat and an adjacent orange packing barn.
Gamble's fondness for rustic southern country architecture is reflected in the design of the main house. Gamble incorporated many Florida Cracker architectural features into his bungalow-style design, including large, open porches, an open breezeway, a steeply pitched, wooden shingle roof, and large windows for cross-ventilation. The final result is a unique, upscale version of a Cracker house. When Gamble died on July 2, 1932, Gamble Place was willed to his two daughters, Olivia and Maud. Maud married Judge Alfred K. Nippert, who designed and built the cottage.
Gamble Place was funded in part by the County of Volusia ECHO grant program, approved by its citizens on November 7, 2000 to construct Environmental, Cultural, Historical and Outdoor Recreation Projects for public use.
While you are staying at the August Seven, you might want to pop over to the "main house" .... as a guest to Gamble Place, you can step back in time to experience the same pristine environment that James N. Gamble found so inviting during his first visit to the area in the late 1800's.
The 175-acre property, included in the National Register of Historic Places features an historic home, cottage and Citrus Packing House. The "Florida cracker-style" house at Gamble Place, named "Egwanulti" (a Native American word meaning "by the water"), was used as a winter retreat.
The once privately-owned Citrus Packing House is now the only one currently in existence in its original location in Florida. This vanishing piece of history is significant to Florida and our visitors.
In addition to the buildings, visitors can observe wildlife, ancient cypress trees and beautiful azalea blossoms.
Learn more about "Gamble Place."
Located at 1819 Taylor Road in Port Orange, 1.5 miles west of I-95. Exit 256 and go west on Taylor Road (SR 421) approximately 1.5 miles. At the Florida Historic Site marker, turn left down the 2-lane shell road. Gamble Place is approximately .5 miles down the shell road.
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