The Stranahan House is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County, a white frame building sitting improbably close to the New River amid the glass towers of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Frank Stranahan arrived in 1892 to operate a ferry crossing and quickly set up a trading post, becoming one of the first white settlers to build a lasting relationship with the Seminole Nation. The house he eventually built for himself and his wife Ivy in 1901 served at various points as a trading post, post office, community hall, and private residence — a record of what Fort Lauderdale was before it became a city of pleasure boats and spring breakers.
Tours run several times daily and last about 45 minutes, led by guides who clearly enjoy the darker corners of local history. The interior has been carefully restored: you get the original cypress woodwork, the wide verandas designed to catch river breezes, and the period furnishings that Ivy Stranahan accumulated over her long widowhood (she outlived Frank by decades and died in the house at 91). The river view from the front porch gives you a sense of why this spot was chosen — and why someone might have felt it slipping away.