Stranahan House

Fort Lauderdale's oldest surviving structure, built in 1901 as a trading post and home for Frank and Ivy Stranahan. Frank traded with the Seminole Indians and became a founding father of Fort Lauderdale.

The Stranahan House is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County, built in 1901 by Frank Stranahan as both a trading post and a wedding gift for his bride, Ivy Cromartie, the local schoolteacher. Frank operated the ferry across the New River and established trade with the Seminole Indians on the opposite shore. The home served the family for decades until tragedy struck.

The 1920s brought ruin. A devastating 1926 hurricane killed hundreds and destroyed businesses throughout Florida. Saddled with financial ruin and a diagnosis of untreatable prostate cancer, Frank Stranahan attempted suicide in 1929. He methodically strapped a large iron gate to his ankle and threw himself into the nearby Intracoastal Waterway—the weight ensuring he couldn't change his mind.

Ivy continued living in the house, advocating for the Seminole people and women's suffrage until her death in an upstairs bedroom in 1971 at age 90.

At least six ghosts inhabit the Stranahan House today. Frank's ghost has been seen reliving his suicide—jumping into the New River with an iron gate tied to his ankle. Ivy's spirit appears accompanied by the strong scent of antique perfume; employees climbing to the attic report feeling a phantom hand steadying them on the stairs, believed to be Ivy's protective spirit.

Shortly after Frank's death, a young Seminole girl came to visit Ivy but collapsed in the doorway and died. Her sweet voice has been captured on EVP recordings, sometimes singing and chanting. Candy from Frank's desk mysteriously appears in piles in the attic—a gift from the little girl who likes to raid the candy jar.

Investigators have documented unexplained cigar smoke, cold spots, unintelligible voices, and spontaneous battery drain. Books have flown across rooms, and an angry male spirit has been known to bang on walls and chase homeless people off the veranda.