Stranahan House Museum

The Stranahan House was built in 1901 by Frank Stranahan, credited as Fort Lauderdale’s founding father, and his wife Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, the area’s first school teacher. It is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County and has served as a trading post, post office, community gathering, and home to the Stranahans. The house is a wood-frame vernacular structure with wide porches and a stunning view of the New River. It was lovingly restored by the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society and the Fort Lauderdale Board of Realtors and opened to the public as a historic house museum in 1984. The Stranahan House has stood at the center of Fort Lauderdale’s growth since it was built and has played a significant role in the economic and social life of this community. A guided tour of Fort Lauderdale’s Historic Stranahan House Museum is like a journey through time. It is a link to a time when Seminole Indians made friends with a young Ohioan who settled in the frontier town now known as Fort Lauderdale.