7 North Orange Avenue

7 Orange Avenue - The McKethan House 

We’re standing here at 7 Orange Avenue, admiring the McKethan House, a stately two-story beauty built in 1882 that’s got stories as rich as a Southern summer sunset. Also known as the John J. Hale House, this place has been home to pioneers, bankers, and citrus growers, and it’s a true gem of Brooksville’s past. So, let’s settle in and dive into its tale. 

The McKethan House was built by John J. Hale, a key figure in Brooksville’s early days, who married Dorothy Ederington, daughter of Colonel Francis H. Ederington, a South Carolina settler who owned the Chinsegut Hill Plantation. John, one of the town’s pioneer families alongside the Howells, Mays, and Parsons, wasn’t just a farmer—he introduced tangerines to Hernando County, helping earn Brooksville its nickname, “Home of the Tangerine.” Constructing this house was no small feat in 1882. With local materials hard to come by, John had bricks shipped from Massachusetts, hauled by train, boat, and wagon to this very spot. The result? A symmetrical, two-story home with front gable dormers, transoms, sidelights, and a full-width front porch adorned with gingerbread railing balusters—pure Victorian charm.

John’s passion for transportation shone through during the build. He helped found the Brooksville Railroad Association, bringing the Florida Southern Railway to town in 1885, and served on a federal board overseeing the development of Route 19 from Erie, Pennsylvania, to St. Petersburg, Florida. His home at 7 Orange Avenue became a hub for community life, with its breezeway, once separating the kitchen, later enclosed for modern living.

The house passed to the McKethan family, most notably Alfred A. McKethan, a fifth-generation Floridian born in 1908. Alfred, grandson of John J. Hale through his mother, Mary Alice Hale, grew up to be a titan in Brooksville. He started at Hernando State Bank in 1923, rising to president of the Florida Bankers Association by age 38. He co-founded the Brooksville Rock Company, later Florida Mining & Materials, and served as chairman of the State Road Board from 1949 to 1953, helping build the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and planning the Florida Turnpike. Alfred made sure state roads wound through Brooksville, saying, “All roads lead to Brooksville,” with Highways 41 and 98 flanking this very house. He was also a citrus grower, leading the Brooksville Citrus Growers Association and the Florida Citrus Exchange.

This house was a gathering place for big names, from Soviet ambassadors to Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Doyle Conner Sr.  Alfred’s grandson, Robert Buckner, lived here while attending what’s now Saint Leo University, recalling those meals as the day’s big event. He remembers, “For generations, the noontime lunch/dinner was kind of the big event of the day." Doyle Conner Sr., Florida's longtime commissioner of agriculture, sometimes joined McKethan for the famous fried chicken served by his cook, Minnie Stephens. So did citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin Jr. and former Gov. Lawton Chiles, who once ate so much that he left the table to take a nap in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Standing here, you can almost hear the clatter of wagons delivering those Massachusetts bricks or the laughter from Alfred’s famous lunches. The McKethan House, with its Victorian elegance and storied residents, is a living piece of Brooksville’s soul. Let’s tip our hats to John Hale, Alfred McKethan, and the generations who made this place a home. 

Citations 

7 North Orange Avenue, Tour BVL, https://www.tourbvl.com.[](https://www.tourbvl.com/7-north-orange-avenue)

Hernando County: Our Story by Alfred A. McKethan, 1989, Hernando Historical Museum Association, https://www.hernandohistoricalmuseumassoc.com.[](https://www.hernandohistoricalmuseumassoc.com/product/hernando-county-our-story/)

Who Were the McKethans? Hernando Sun, January 5, 2021, https://www.hernandosun.com.[](https://www.hernandosun.com/2021/01/05/who-were-mckethans/)

A Brooksville Landmark Slides into Neglect, Tampa Bay Times, https://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/a-brooksville-landmark-slides-into-neglect/2139226/.[](https://www.tourbvl.com/7-north-orange-avenue)

Chinsegut Hill Manor House, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinsegut_Hill_Manor_House.[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinsegut_Hill_Manor_House)

Our Story by Alfred McKethan; Dan DeWitt (Tampa Bay Times), “Historic Walking Tour of Brooksville” by Ken Badgely, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_A._McKethan, https://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/a-brooksville-landmark-slides-into-neglect/2139226/