Section 2.5 – Historic Homes & Living Stories of Gainesville
Gainesville’s Matheson House—built circa 1867 by the pioneering Matheson family—ranks among the city’s oldest surviving structures. The family residence combines South Carolina plantation style with Classical Revival and Gothic elements, featuring a rare Florida gambrel roof. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973, it now forms part of the Matheson History Museum Complex, a trove of local and Florida history.
Also in Gainesville, the Haile Homestead, also known as the Haile Plantation House, was built in 1856 by Thomas Evans Haile and his wife Esther “Serena” Chesnut Haile on what was originally a 1,500-acre Sea Island cotton plantation. It’s one of the oldest homes still standing in Alachua County and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
What makes the Haile Homestead truly legendary are its “Talking Walls,” so named because the Haile family wrote everything from diary entries to recipes and household inventories on the interior walls of the house.
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Matheson History Museum
Located in the heart of downtown Gainesville,
the Matheson History Museum is home to the Historic Matheson House, permanent and temporary exhibits on Alachua County and Florida history, and a local history library and archives filled with resources for the researcher and the curious alike. Throughout the year we host a variety of programs on local and Florida history.
The Matheson recently celebrated 32 years of sharing Alachua County’s history with the greater community. Named for Christopher and Sarah Matheson, the last residents of the Matheson House, the staff and Board of Directors of the Matheson History Museum have worked hard to share the county’s full history, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. We want the Museum to be accessible and welcoming to all, so admission and most programs are free.
A visit to Gainesville is not complete without a tour of the Matheson History Museum. Explore the current exhibitions and gain a deeper understanding of the city and county’s history before you explore all that Gainesville has to offer. Learning about the local history is one of the best ways to participate in the local culture.
On Saturday, May 9th from 12pm-6pm the Matheson will be hosting the 2026 Floridiana Festival at the First Magnitude Brewing Company in Gainesville. Come to First Magnitude at 1220 SE Veitch Street in Gainesville to snag your own piece of Florida kitsch and vintage Florida and enjoy specially branded Floridiana Festival beer and swag. The festival will also include food trucks and live music.
For more information, please click here.
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Historic Haile Homestead
Located in Gainesville, Florida, Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation is one of the few plantation homes still standing in North Central Florida that is open to the public, providing visitors with the opportunity to learn about the antebellum history of the state and the enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored here.
Sitting on a once 1,500-acre property, the Historic Haile Homestead was the family home of Thomas Evans Haile, Esther “Serena” Chesnut Haile, and their fourteen children—one of the many Sea Island cotton-planting families that relocated to Florida from South Carolina in the mid-1850s. The approximately 6,200 sq ft home stands virtually as it did when its construction was completed by enslaved laborers in 1856, a testament to their skill and expertise. Known for its “Talking Walls,” the Homestead has over 12,500 words written on its walls, with writing in almost every room and closet in the home.
After sitting abandoned for roughly half a century, the home was rediscovered in the 1970s by movie producer, Victor Nunez, who filmed a movie adaptation of Majorie Kinnan Rawlings’ short story “Gal Young Un” (1932) at the Homestead. The Homestead was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was restored in 1996 before opening to the public. When the Homestead first opened to the public in 2001, little was known about the enslaved individuals who labored at the property.
Through tireless historical research and collaboration with descendants, we now know much more about the enslaved people whose labor made Kanapaha Plantation possible. Today, the names of 61 of the 66 individuals enslaved at the property are known.
Come visit us this weekend to experience this historical gem in the heart of North Central Florida and learn about the important history and legacy of enslavement in Florida.