DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Central Florida home that’s stood since 1876 may get a new life.
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The City of Daytona Beach could soon approve more than half a million dollars in funding to repair and renovate the home of the city’s first female mayor and doctor.
The house has sat vacant for the last several years, but the public could soon get back inside.
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Josie Rogers was elected the city’s first female mayor in 1922, just two years after women got the right to vote. In the home, she also practiced medicine as the city’s first female doctor and some believe she may have been one of the first female doctors in the state.
The city is considering amending its lease agreement for Riverfront Park with the Brown Esplande Foundation to allow it to contain the home and approve $600,000 in upgrades and repairs.
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According to city documents, about $405,000 would go to repair windows, trim decks and structural improvements. The rest would go toward a new deck, environmental testing and architectural fees.
“She was involved in a lot of different board and different movements like the woman’s right to vote and she also took in patients that were also white and black,” said Heather Files, director of the Halifax Historical Museum.
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