PARRAMORE, Fla. — Tucked away in the Parramore community, secured behind a locked gate, sits the historical Maxey-Crooms House on West Anderson Street.

Some residents say the house is a reminder of when the Parramore community was a bustling neighborhood full of successful African Americans in the early 1900s. Since then, however, time has passed, and the home has become badly deteriorated.

“It’s obviously fallen into disrepair,” said former Orlando facilities manager David Dunn. “But the city is about to embark upon a restoration project."

The home was made into a historic landmark by the city of Orlando in 1989, and now, after collecting funds, officials are preparing design plans for a $3 million restoration project. They said the project would involve restoring the home to as close to its original design as possible.

“We’re going to completely renovate the exterior to create a representation of what the house looked like in its glory days," Dunn said. "So it’ll be historically correct to that time."

The home was named after Woodford James Maxey and his wife/partner Mamie Crooms-Maxey. Both are highly regarded for important contributions to the Central Florida area during a time when African Americans were still greatly disregarded.

According to the city of Orlando, Woodford moved to the area in 1904 and became one of three mail carriers in Orlando — and the only Black carrier at the time. The city said that Woodford invested in real estate, leading to his home being built in 1924 by a Black contractor from Gainesville.

Woodford’s wife, Mamie Crooms, and her family held a legacy of their own with ties to education, city leadership and church ministry, among other community social institutions. Mamie’s brother Joseph Crooms was known for founding Crooms Academy, while another of her brothers was mayor of Eatonville, and at least two others were pastors at a local church.

The two families came together through marriage, and while many members of the Maxey-Crooms family have died, one of Mamie’s seven siblings, Alfred Conrad — or A.C. — Crooms, still connects the community to their rich history.

With some of the only living descendants remaining, Spectrum News was able to track down and speak to A.C. Crooms’ grandson, Ezra Washington Cooper. 

“I did my best to try to live up to that and make sure that they would be proud of my performance,” Cooper said. “I know my sisters and brothers, which there were eight of us, did the same thing.”

Cooper said his family had a love for gatherings — much like the Maxey-Crooms House was a gathering place for prominent Black people before his time.

That is why Cooper said he was happy to hear that his family’s legacy will live on through the preservation of the home on Anderson Street — though he said he would rather see it preserved exclusively as a piece of history.

According to Dunn, who has been working to get the restoration project off the ground alongside Commissioner Regina Hill, the house will be restored in the hopes that it can be rented to a tenant.

“A lot of woodwork adorned this house in its prime, and we’re hoping to have that same kind of luster once we get it turned back into an office complex,” Dunn said.

According to a city spokesperson, contractor bidding has not yet begun on the project, as the city is still working to finalize design plans.