Deep in the heart of urban Tallahassee lie ten acres of land, fertile and rich with history and heritage. Set atop a commanding hill in this tranquil recess of nature, and neighbor to the Florida Governor’s Mansion, stands The Grove Museum. The structure itself is known as the Call-Collins House because it was built and first occupied by territorial governor Richard Keith Call in 1825 and lastly occupied by his great-granddaughter Mary Call Collins and her husband, Governor LeRoy Collins. The Collins family sold The Grove to the State of Florida in 1985, entrusting the property to the Florida Department of State and ensuring its future use as a museum. Throughout its service as a private home, the property stood witness to nearly two centuries of Florida history.
Interior finishes were modeled after The Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s home near Nashville, Tennessee, and typify the balanced proportional symmetry characteristic of regional antebellum American Greek Revival and Neoclassical architecture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the Call-Collins House at The Grove is one of the best-preserved examples of Greek Revival architecture in Florida. While the home is large and impressive, the understated nature of exterior and interior finishes helps to maintain its sense of demure discretion that rests in harmony with the flora and fauna that surrounds the structure.
The home was passed down to the oldest child of Richard Keith Call, Ellen Call Long, who took over control of The Grove from her father in 1851 and lived on the property until her death in 1905. She raised silkworms at her home to demonstrate a new vision for the future of southern agriculture. Through the years, Mrs. Long sold much of the original property purchased by her father to reduce the expenses of The Grove. By 1887, The Grove contained only thirteen of its original 640 acres.
Ellen Call Long’s granddaughter, Reinette Long Hunt, acquired The Grove shortly before Mrs. Long’s death. In 1908, Hunt helped organize the first Tallahassee Country Club at The Grove which took advantage of a few golf holes laid out north of the property. Like her grandmother, Reinette’s strength and independent spirit were evidenced by her dedication to maintain the ancestral family home through hard times. Hunt’s efforts to produce income extended to the development of Grove-themed products, including her own brand of tomato sauce. From the 1920s until the end of her life, Reinette operated The Grove as a hotel and made a few small changes to the home to accommodate her guests. She partitioned at least one room on the second floor and built bathrooms on the east side of the house for an apartment shared with her mother, Cora Gamble Long.
Governor LeRoy Collins and his wife Mrs. Mary Call Collins purchased the property from Reinette’s distant cousins, John W. Ford and Josephine Alger, who owned the property for a brief time after her passing. During their time at The Grove, Governor and Mrs. Collins built an addition on the rear of the house that complemented the historic building. The addition provided necessary modern conveniences and included a large “Florida room” that provided the family with opportunities to enjoy the peaceful, natural setting of the home from the shaded indoors.
With only one glimpse of the grounds, visitors can see why a Florida room was a great idea. The sprawling acreage is teeming with birds, blossoms and various other sorts of natural wildlife. Because she enjoyed sitting in the Florida room during the heat of the summer, the grounds of The Grove were beautifully landscaped under the direction of Mrs. Mary Call Collins, using evergreen, white-blooming native and naturalized plants that suggest a sense of peaceful serenity. Reportedly, Mrs. Collins felt that Florida’s summers were hot enough and she didn’t want to look at hot-colored flowers; rather, she wanted a place that felt cool and restful.
When the Florida Department of State became the official steward of The Grove, the house and grounds underwent an extensive five-year rehabilitation, completed in 2015 under the leadership of the department’s Division of Historical Resources. The Grove Museum has become one of the few historic house museums in the nation to earn certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Now open in March 2017, The Grove Museum now invites you to explore the home and grounds and to experience for yourselves the beauty of the structure and its surroundings. Each room within the home offers you a unique interactive experience. Come imagine what life was like in Tallahassee through the decades as you explore the restored house and roam its manicured grounds. View incredible artifacts and experience the lives of the people of The Grove.
Tours begin in the basement that features Governor Collins’ study exactly as it appeared when he passed in 1991. You will experience first-hand the room in which Collins confronted the challenges he faced as a public servant.
In the first floor parlor, is a “museum within a museum” created by Mrs. Collins. The room, arranged and furnished by First Lady Collins and curator James Cogar, remains in its original order from when The Grove opened briefly as a museum in 1959. Mrs. Collins’ passion for historic preservation was ignited when the Collins family took ownership of The Grove in the 1950s and restored it back to the house she remembered as a child.
On the second floor, you can walk through a recreation of what a renter’s room might have looked like for Reinette’s guests during the era of The Grove Hotel. Through touch screen displays, sift through hand-written letters, historic photographs, and old maps, and hear the words of the people who lived in the house.
While strolling through the grounds, you might encounter a diversity of resident and migratory songbirds. If you’re interested in learning more about the common birds and butterflies at The Grove, identification cards and other materials are available.
From slavery to civil rights and from private home to public house, the story of The Grove Museum speaks to critical moments that define the American experience. The artifacts and exhibit collections, and the interpretation thereof, serve to honor the legacy of the Call and Collins families by educating the public on the importance of public service, entrepreneurship, and historic preservation.
The Grove Museum is located approximately one mile north of the State Capitol Complex in Tallahassee, Florida. Admission is free, and visitors can enter the property from the parking lot at 902 N. Monroe Street. Visitors to The Grove Museum can enjoy professionally guided tours of the historic Call-Collins house and surrounding grounds, offered on the hour every Wednesday – Friday at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. and on Saturday 10, 11, noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m.
For more information, please call 850.577.0228, or visit TheGroveMuseum.com. 
By Mark Ard, Florida Department of State
