Sunday Favorites: Historic Reid House to Become Art Center

On Friday, A historic house in Sarasota that once belonged to Leonard Reid was relocated to a City-owned property. It will become the first home for a new Sarasota African American cultural arts center. This week, we'll explore Reid's life and accomplishments.

The historic Leonard Reid house was successfully moved via flat-bed trailer early Friday from its original location in Sarasota’s Rosemary District to North Orange Avenue in Newtown. It is set to become the home of a new cultural arts center for the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition (SAACC).

The single-story home was built in 1926 and owned by Reid, one of the founders of Sarasota’s first black community Overtown (presently known as the Rosemary District). The 1400-square-foot vernacular-style structure was a typical model of the 1920s and is now listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places, according to a press release from the City of Sarasota.

The venture was a multi-faceted collaboration between the city, the previous homeowner, and SAACC, that took two years to complete. After the homeowner expressed a desire to donate the structure, a vacant lot was purchased in Newtown, and talks with SAACC were initiated, as the organization was looking for a space to establish a cultural art and history center within city limits, according to the release.

In January of 2022, the Sarasota City Commission unanimously approved a lease agreement with SAACC to use the Reid house as a venue to host lectures, programs, and exhibits to promote history and education by bringing diverse individuals together.

It’s a fitting use for the historic structure where Reid, his wife Eddye, and their four children Ray, James, Ethel, and Viola resided for most of their lives.

Historians believe Reid’s legacy in Sarasota may have been accidental. Born Leonard Sproles, in Greenville, S.C. in 1881, he took the last name of his stepfather and later moved to Savannah, Ga., where he attended Savannah Normal School for a career in education. In 1900, he set off for Cuba, taking a detour to Sarasota to catch fish he could sell in the Cuban market to start his life there. But after meeting some friends and going out one night, he slept in, missed the boat, and decided to remain in the area, according to the article ”Leonard Reid Historic House,“ by historian Jeff LaHurd on the website Sarasota History Alive.

While working in the fishing industry, he was introduced to Colonel Hamilton Gillespie, a Scotsman with insatiable ambition and determination on his way to becoming Sarasota’s most prominent citizen. The two became fast friends and Gillespie invited Reid into his home and offered him employment. Not only did Reid serve as a butler, coachman, and head-of-house, but he also became a confidante and companion for Gillespie, who was becoming one of the most powerful men in town. Gillespie encouraged Reid to continue his education. Reid excelled in secondary school, even becoming class valedictorian, according to LaHurd.

A young woman of color named Eddye (Addyes) Colman also worked in the Gillespie household. Colman had lost her father at a young age and been placed under the care of Gillespie’s first wife Mary after her mother could no longer afford to support her as a single mother. Under the care and employment of the Gillespies, Colman worked as a housekeeper. Colman and Reid married in 1901 but continued to live in the Gillespie house until their first child, Ray, was born. Then, they moved into a small rental house on Central Avenue.

About this time, Reid accompanied Gillespie on a walk through some palmetto bushes in downtown and sketched out a nine-hole-golf-course that would become the first in Florida and possibly the whole United States. Reid assisted Gillespie in its development and went on to become the first greenskeeper and caddy in the U.S., according to LaHurd.

Reid confided in Gillespie that he wanted to go into business for himself and Gillespie sold him four lots for $400. He built his family house on one of those properties and started the community of Overtown with the others.

Leonard Reid continued his close association with Gillespie until Gillespie's death in 1923. It was rumored that after Gillespie's death, Reid related the story that after he and Colman married, Gillespie knew that they would need a home of their own, but said "not too far away, for I canna do without ye."

According to LaHurd, the Reid home originally had three outbuildings; on the north, small frame storage shed; a larger frame shed or small barn on the southwest; and a frame garage to the west. Inside, the house had its own library. As a strong advocate of the importance of education, Reid obtained hundreds of books and established a library in his own home for neighborhood children. He required visiting children to read each night they stayed there. Reid also bought a piano and hired a teacher from Tampa to teach lessons in his home every Wednesday. He was also an inspiration to many members of the community and mentored young men and women hoping to become successful.

He continued to accumulate land throughout his lifetime. He and his wife also made significant contributions to the community. They were founding members and officers who played a prominent role in establishing Sarasota's second oldest African American church, Payne Chapel, the AME Methodist Church.

Leonard Reid died in his home of a heart attack on November 19, 1952, one week after being featured as one of the pioneer citizens honored for Sarasota's 50th birthday celebration.

His children continued his life legacy in various ways. Ray became a commercial fisherman, James became a musician, Ethel became a life-long educator, and Viola a preschool director. Eddye lived in the house until her death in 1970. After that, Ethel and Viola lived there until many years until they were no longer able to care for themselves.

Having the house back as the nucleus of the African-American community is a fitting way to honor Reid’s legacy and his lifetime commitment to creating a better future for local children. For the first time in more than 50 years, music and literature will once again emanate from the structure enlightening and inspiring children and families for generations to come.