Secretary Detzner Announces the Designation of Two Florida Properties on the National Register of Historic Places

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced today that North Woodlawn Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale and the Frank and Stella Heiser House in Fellsmere have been listed on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places.

“Florida’s history continues to be well-represented as more properties and sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “These two historic resources show different aspects of the state’s history, and provide valuable windows into the diverse culture and heritage our state has always enjoyed.”

Photo: North Woodlawn Cemetery

North Woodlawn Cemetery, located in Fort Lauderdale, was established in the 1920s for African-Americans in response to the racial segregation of the era. Today, North Woodlawn Cemetery is the last remaining historic African-American cemetery in Fort Lauderdale. It is notable for its connection to the early black pioneers of Fort Lauderdale and for its display of African-American funerary folk art. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the City of Fort Lauderdale.

Photo: Frank and Stella Heiser House

The Frank and Stella Heiser House, located in Fellsmere, is a Bungalow-style house that was the home of Frank William Heiser from 1915 to 1943. Heiser was a major figure in the development of Fellsmere’s sugar cane and fertilizer industries, which helped to preserve the Fellsmere economy during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Heiser’s Fellsmere Sugar Company was the origin of the Florida Crystals brand. This modest one-story house is characterized by a low-pitched front-gable porch roof with wide enclosed eave openings and large stucco-covered brick piers. The home is the last remaining structure related to Heiser’s life and work in Fellsmere.

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About The National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is a list maintained by the National Park Service which includes historical or archaeological properties including buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts, that are considered worthy of preservation because of their local, statewide and/or national significance. Nominations for properties in Florida are submitted to the National Park Service through the Florida Department of State’s Division of Historical Resources. Florida has over 1,700 listings on the National Register, including 294 historic districts and 175 archaeological sites. There are more than 50,000 sites contributing to the National Register in Florida. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation/national-register. For more information about the National Register of Historic Places program administered by the National Park Service, visit nps.gov/nr.

About The Florida Department of State’s Bureau of Historic Preservation

The Bureau of Historic Preservation (BHP) conducts historic preservation programs aimed at identifying, evaluating, preserving and interpreting the historic and cultural resources of the state. The Bureau manages the Florida Main Street Program, and under federal and state laws, oversees the National Register of Historic Places program for Florida, maintains an inventory of the state's historical resources in the Florida Master Site File, assists applicants in federal tax benefit and local government ad valorem tax relief programs for historic buildings, and reviews the impact that development projects may have on significant historic resources. For more information, visit http://flheritage.com/preservation.