TEATIME TRANQUILITY & TREASURES ALACHUA, FL
Teatime Tranquility can become the place your dreams come true as your Wedding venue!
We offer complete packages encompassing our lush beautiful gardens with a trickling waterfall and a beautiful Gazebo.
There is a stately old Magnolia tree, wrap-around porches, and a large veranda that can be used to make your dreams come to life.
We also provide an Event Director included in any of our packages, She will listen to your wants and needs and make them just as you want.
Included in our packages you will find we have a beautiful Brides suite for the special lady of the day along with her bridesmaids to prepare for the day.
We didn’t forget the Groom and his Groomsmen They can also celebrate together as they prepare for the ceremony.
The rooms are separate and have different entrances so the groom will only see his bride as she descends the grand staircases.
Everyone here at Teatime Tranquility is determined to make sure everything will make this a magical experience for you and your loved ones.
EXPERIENCE AN ICONIC TIME IN A HISTORICAL QUEEN ANNE VICTORIAN MANSION.
Schedule your dream wedding or special event.
Willows Rest is in the heart of downtown Alachua, she is a stately 1902 Queen Victorian Mansion, sitting comfortably tucked away in Alachua’s historical district nestled among the Grand oaks in this quaint small town outside of Gainesville. She will rise up to greet you as you come near, we try to embody the legend of the 19th century while offering all the conveniences and comforts of 21st-century amenities. The old and new are seamlessly blended together for an aesthetic delight. When you step inside you will feel as though you have been transported back in time, to a quieter, gentler time.
Once inside you can ascend the grand staircase among the Master Craftsman’s special carved work and enter the Library where you can take a seat on the loveseat to read or just enjoy your tea The books beckon you to pick them up, from poetry, mystery, or romances they have them all to enjoy. if you are looking for a special unique gift you will find them in the Aspen Boutique. You will get lost in the antiques, and one-of-a-kind items. Most all the teacups and teapots throughout the mansion are for sale for your special someone.
Teatime Tranquility & Treasures Tea Shoppe occupies the ground floor where one can come sit and have a freshly brewed cup of specialty tea just for you. The gentle tranquil setting will give you a moment to take a breath…, while you take in all the sights and wonderful fragrances of freshly baked pastries, soups, and quiche.
WILLIAMS-LEROY HOUSE HISTORY
In 1898, Furman E. Williams embarked on the construction of the Williams-LeRoy house, a prominent residence in Alachua, one of Florida’s earliest inland pioneer settlements. The completion of the house occurred in 1902, showcasing the deep connection between the associated families and the town’s origins.
Furman E. Williams, together with his brothers, played a pivotal role in establishing the town of Alachua. His nephew, Henry N. LeRoy, emerged as a significant businessman and influential local politician.
During the 1860s, the Williams brothers acquired substantial portions of land in the Elochaway district. Furman, in particular, owned land where a new railroad depot was established in the 1880s. Taking advantage of the influx of people to the depot, Furman sold his land in one-acre plots, reserving the best for his various businesses, including phosphate mining, a general store, and the Bank of Alachua.
Around 1866, Ida, Furman Williams’ future wife, relocated from Kentucky to Alachua. She had been caring for her 5-year-old nephew, Henry LeRoy, who had been orphaned as a toddler. By the turn of the century, Furman and Ida Williams had married and began constructing their grand new home in the town center. The house first appeared on the tax rolls in 1902. Henry LeRoy, along with another nephew raised by Mr. Williams named Furman Smith, and the Williams family’s servant, Candacy Wilson, a fifty-year-old widow, moved into the new Queen Anne Victorian home.
During the construction of the house, Williams had a massive ancient tree from his Newnansville property cut down and milled. The heartwood pine obtained from the tree was used to construct the front lobby and grand staircase, and it remains a part of the home to this day.
Even during its construction, the house gained attention for its exceptional architecture. A report in 1903 titled “Southern Industry” described Alachua’s private residences as among the best in the county, including Mr. Williams’ residence, which featured amenities like acetylene gas and water works.
Sadly, Furman Williams passed away suddenly in 1905, the same year the house was completed. His death was deeply felt by the community, as he was known as a well-respected businessman and an enterprising spirit. The funeral took place at his residence, and he was laid to rest in Newnansville Cemetery. His gravestone inscription read:
Living he made the poor man’s heart glad And at his death the sorrowing ones more sad.
In June 1905, good news returned to the Williams household with the marriage of Henry LeRoy and Eliza Dell. Henry was regarded as a leading young man in Alachua and a member of Williams Company, the firm he ran with his uncle Furman’s brother, Jack Williams. Eliza, popular among the community, was considered one of Gainesville’s most beloved young ladies.
The couple welcomed their daughter, Blanche, in 1912, whom Mrs. Williams treated like a granddaughter. Although Henry initially worked in his uncle Furman’s mercantile business, he became a stockholder after Furman’s passing and continued running Williams Company. Henry’s business interests expanded to include farming, real estate properties, and a role as vice president of the Bank of Alachua, his uncle’s old bank. He also served as Mayor of Alachua for four terms and remained a city commissioner into the 1930s.
Eliza Leroy was known for her fashion sense and active involvement in social activities, while their daughter Blanche was reserved and quiet. As a child, Blanche enjoyed playing in a backyard playhouse that was an exact-scale replica of the Williams’ home. However, when the home’s outdoor kitchen burned down, the Leroy family dismantled the playhouse due to fire safety concerns.
Across the street from their home, the Alachua Woman’s Club now stands. Occasionally, a traveling fair would set up its tents there, parading trained circus animals up and down Main Street after arriving at the railroad depot. Blanche and her friends would taunt the young men of Alachua from the windows of the house’s third-story tower, back when Main Street was nothing more than a dirt road.
Blanche never married but became involved in her father’s insurance agency. After Henry LeRoy’s passing in 1969, a close family friend named Daurice Bohannon moved in to assist Blanche with her father’s business affairs. Daurice, an insurance agent herself, had previously been married to C.B. Bohannon, a former mayor of Gainesville and city commissioner. It is said that their separation came about due to Mr. Bohannon’s frequent business trips to Jacksonville.
Throughout the 1970s, Blanche and Daurice managed Mr. LeRoy’s insurance agency. Blanche passed away in 1989, while Daurice resided in the house until her death in 1996. The property was then sold to Daurice’s niece and her husband, Joan and George Sterovich, in 1998.
Today, the Williams-LeRoy house serves as a premier wedding and event venue in the Alachua area and beyond. Its historical beauty stands as a testament to the past and a symbol of resilience in the present.