Guest Blogger: Debra Kolendo Wilson
It was spooky yet cool, a little austere but somehow classy, with huge rooms, upstairs and downstairs screened-in verandas and, best of all, lots of hiding places.
Inspired by The Boynton We Remember and Janet DeVries Naughton’s Boynton History Facebook page, I began wondering about the history of my childhood home. During a recent visit to Boynton Beach, where I was born and raised, I realized how little I knew about our Mediterranean Revival–influenced house on U.S. 1. Likely built in the early 1900s and demolished in the mid-1960s, I was sure that it held at least one mystery, if not more.
How could I unravel it? I asked myself, “What would Janet do?” First, I gathered the credible information already in hand. Fortunately, I had copies of my parents’ property deeds on my laptop. When I contacted Janet, she knew nothing about the house but enthusiastically discussed possibilities and cheered me on.
Next, I spent several days at the Palm Beach County Clerk’s office researching Robert Addition, hoping to establish a chain of title identifying the property’s previous owners.
My parents, Joseph and Ida Kolendo, purchased the property in 1952 from Claude and Aline Ross. Earlier transactions involving some or all of the lots in Block 8 (Lots 1–6) include the names Tabit, Rousseau, Anthony, Mast, Carmichael and McKay. I am particularly interested in Lots 3 and 4, where the house stood. Unfortunately, errors in the century-old deed indexes have led to frustrating dead ends.
But Boynton Beach history, and the stories of the families who lived here, can be hiding in the very soil beneath our feet, tucked away in the closets of old homes, or buried in faded and misfiled courthouse records. In the case of the big green house on U.S. 1, names like Robert, Anthony, Rousseau, Dewey, Mast, and Tabit offer clues to a past that remains largely unknown. Perhaps time, patience, and a little more digging will reveal some of its secrets.
But there’s another valuable historical resource: YOU! Yes, you!
Perhaps you or someone in your family remembers this unusual house or its former occupants. Our neighbors behind us were Howard and Rosemary Austin and their children, Keith and Sherry. As I recall, the police and fire station stood just north of our property, and my mother sold a corner lot to Ray Allen for his real estate company.
Do you recognize the house in these photographs? Do you remember any of these families, know who built the house or have old photographs that might provide clues?
What began as curiosity about my childhood home has become a search for a missing piece of Boynton Beach history. If you have information or memories to share, I would love to hear from you. Perhaps together we can solve the mystery of the house on U.S. 1!
And perhaps my search will inspire you to look a little closer at the place you call home. After all, every old house has a history, even if some of its stories have yet to be discovered.
What’s the history of your home?
