Villa Alexandria

2252 River Road, Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida

Built circa 1870 for Alexander Mitchell (1817-1887) and his wife, Martha Reed (1818-1902), sister of Florida's Governor Harrison Reed. The villa stood on 140-acres and the Mitchells wintered here when not in Europe or living at their sumptuous mansion in Milwaukee, the Mitchell Mansion. Another winter resident, Harriet Beecher Stowe, compared their home to an, "Italian-Swiss Villa" and it was described as, “the show place of the environs of Jacksonville.” Its pleasure grounds featured carriageways, a boathouse, orange groves, a swimming pool, fountains, pools and artificial streams....

4 images

This house is best associated with...

Alexander Mitchell

Alexander Mitchell, Railroad President & Congressman, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1817-1887

Martha Reed

Mrs Martha (Reed) Mitchell

1818-1902

After her husband died in 1887, Mrs Mitchell - "a cultured Massachusetts beauty" in her youth - lived here almost year-round. She co-founded both All Saints Episcopal Church and St. Luke's Hospital Association of which she was President for 25-years. It was demolished in 1926 to make way for the San Marco subdivision and shortly afterwards the Swisher House was built in its place, and still stands today.