Goodwood Mansion

Goodwood Mansion stands on land from the original grant awarded to the Marquis de Lafayette for his service during the Revolutionary War. Hardy Croom of North Carolina, a planter and recognized naturalist, purchased the parcel, and after the untimely death of him and his family in 1837, his brother Bryan Croom completed construction of the mansion in the 1840s. Its original Italianate style featured floor-to-ceiling windows, a roof cupola admitting light, air, and ventilation, and a broad veranda. The house was built of locally produced brick from Richard Shine's factory, scored with stucco to simulate stonework, and its interior includes massive doors, 8 marble fireplaces, one of the oldest frescoed ceilings in Florida, and a mahogany staircase with semicircular flights to the second floor. Its owners included Arvah Hopkins, Elizabeth Arrowsmith, Mrs. Alexander Tiers, who remodeled the house and created its current appearance in 1911, Florida State Senator William C. Hodges, and Margaret Hodges Hood. After Margaret's death, her second husband Thomas Hood established the Margaret E. Wilson Foundation in her memory, and the home and gardens opened to the public in 1992, with an official opening of the main house in the spring of 2000.

Tallahassee, Florida · United States