LIVING HISTORY
24
27 years of experience
Planning, Protecting, Problem Solving . . .
Providing Peace of Mind
BRUCE R. ABERNETHY, JR.
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW
Florida Bar Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates
Masters degree in tax law (LLm Taxation)
Former practicing Florida CPA
Practice limited to:
• Estate and business planning
• Asset protection planning
• Estate, gift and generation skipping
tax minimization planning
• Charitable gift planning
• Trust and estate administration
772.489.4901
Call for complementary initial consultation
500 Virginia Ave., Suite 202 | Fort Pierce, FL 34982
grandfather’s
home, but
because it is
also symbolic
of the birth of
Martin County
itself. Its
architecture
is unique,
and its story
involves
pioneers,
developers
and the men
who helped create the County in 1925. It represents the great
Florida real estate boom of the 1920s and the hardships of the
Great Depression that followed.
The house did not become the Crarys’ until almost a
decade after its construction on Cardinal Way in St. Lucie Estates.
Designed by Gerald O’Reilly of the Miami architectural
firm of Pfeiffer & O’Reilly, it probably reflects the tastes of its
original owner, Scott Atkin, a Canadian who was one of the
developers of St. Lucie Estates. His fellow developer, Harry
Lyons, gave the Crarys a photograph taken of the house under
construction in 1925, noting on the back that they “owned
the only house in Florida with a Canadian roof.”
Rick Crary describes his grandparents’ house as “an
unusual mix of stucco, lattice trim, two wide gables and the
steepest roof you are likely to see in a land of no snow.” He
says he has heard enchanted strollers call his grandparents’
home a “gingerbread house,” and reflects: “Well, I suppose
it might be the sort of home you’d find in a fairy tale. No
doubt, it has great charm, although it looked more magnificent
centered in a wide lawn with palms and fruit trees reinforcing
each flank. Look the world over and you will never
find its twin.” The house was one of 16 designed for St. Lucie
Estates by O’Reilly. Most of the other designs were Mediterranean
in style.
The developers of St. Lucie Estates, like other business
leaders, wanted the local population to grow dramatically.
They wanted Stuart to become a great port city. And why
not? The region had all of the natural advantages and the >>
STEVE MARTINE
Rick Crary, holds his compilation of the history of the Crary House at a
Stuart Heritage meeting in October 2010.
ED DRONDOSKI
Today, the Crary House serves as an office for Congressman
Tom Rooney.
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