Historic home endowed to ANC

OSCEOLA -- In 1950, Osceola became the home of a two-story English style mansion which in later years would hold a very special spot in the heart of one local man.

Gene Cox may not have been raised in the Cox-Florida Mansion, but his parents lived in the home for more than 30 years, and it has been a big part of Gene's life for the past 43 years.

That's why the decision to endow the mansion to the Arkansas Northeastern College Foundation Board was so tough.

"I wanted someone to take care of it," Cox said, explaining ANC took over the deed to the property Dec. 31, 2010. "My children didn't want to live here," he said. "They have their own plans and I just could not stand the thought of it someday becoming a Ma Kelly Boarding House.

"My mother loved this house and that's why my dad bought it for her. It would be a shame if it was not kept up. This is a win-win situation."

Exactly how does the endowment work? ANC now owns the property, but Cox will have a lifetime interest. In other words, Cox will maintain the property and the grounds, pay the utilities, etc. ANC will insure the facility and will be able to utilize the property for various events, with Cox's permission.

"The house and grounds are a wonderful environment for learning and entertaining," Cox said.

Following Cox's death, the college will take over the mansion. Furnishings within the house remain the property of the Cox family, some original to the home.

'I want the best'

The original furnishings were purchased on buying trips to Europe. The dinning room table and chairs, for example, would be most difficult to find a new home, as the table with two extra leaves extends to 14 feet. There are also 14 upholstered chairs.

Construction began on the mansion in 1948. It was built on a 15-acre estate by Andrew J. Florida, who at that time was reportedly one of the richest men in Arkansas.

"Designed in the spirit of the English period" is the way the architects, Hanker & Heyer, described the style. In the eyes of the average person it looks like an English baronial castle, with its three-story tower. The mansion, with its 24 rooms, covers almost a half of a city block and is 156 feet wide. It has a hand-laid brick driveway.

Inside, the mansion has hand carved mantels and archways, not to mention gorgeous ceiling designs, masterpieces by a craftsman in St. Louis. The window sills are all marble. The library features black walnut wood panels, while the dining room is bleached walnut.

When the hostess has a seat in the dining room, she may call the maid, who would probably be in the kitchen or butler's pantry, with the tap of a button hidden in the floor.

There are four huge upstairs bedrooms.

Each has its own private bath. All the bathrooms are amazing with exquisite tile work and heated floors. Not to mention, cold water drinking spouts.

The second story turret may have been designed as a nursery or maybe a sitting area connected to the bedroom.

The house also has an elevator.

It has often been repeated, Andrew Florida told the builders, Ben White Construction Co. of Blytheville, "I want the best and I want it done right." That included an Olympic-size swimming pool and personal three-hole golf course.

Cox family purchases mansion

In the late 1950s, the Florida family experienced financial difficulties and the U.S. government took over ownership of the mansion. It went up for sale and Roy Cox bought it as a gift for his wife.

For the next 33 years, until her death in 2001, Eloise was the lady of the mansion.

And what a gracious lady she was. Eloise was involved in every ladies civic club around, including PEO, Junior Auxiliary, the Progressive Club and the women's group at the First Baptist Church. She opened her home to these organizations and all her many friends, time after time.

Eloise Wright was born at Plum Bayou, outside of Pine Bluff. Her father was a wealthy planter who lost everything during the Great Depression. Not too many years later he died from a heart attack and Eloise's mother went to work as a school teacher.

Remembering his grandmother, Gene Cox explained she earned a teaching degree from Ouachita Baptist University. Telling one story with a smile, Cox said his grandmother and her roommates would sneak off to the college stables and smoke a cigarette. In those days women did not smoke in public.

"She used to say, 'If they had caught us, we would have been sent home in shame,'" Cox smiled. "She never did smoke ... it was just that college rebellion."

Eloise moved to the town of Wilson when she was 18 years old to live with her sister, Martha, and brother-in-law, Walton (Hy) Wilson, who was Boss Lee's personal secretary.

Eloise went to work as a secretary at the Wilson Motor Company and that's where she first saw a Golden Lake farmer named Roy Cox. Roy was born and raised in Matson, Miss., near Clarksdale. His mother, Anna, was 18 when she married his dad, Charles, who was a 36-year-old bachelor.

During those days, Cox explained, there was no drainage system, and the flat land had a lot of mosquitoes causing malaria. Anna, who had a mind of her own, told her husband they were moving to the hills. Of course, some said it was because she wanted to get her husband away from his race horses and drinking buddies.

So, they packed up the family and moved to Walls, Miss. Many years later, Anna sold her house on Highway 301 to Elvis Presley.

Roy graduated from Horn Lake High School and Ole Miss in 1933, right in the middle of the Depression. "He was the oldest and smallest of five children," his son smiled.

Roy, however, had a vision and was not afraid of hard work. He farmed while he was in high school and college.

It wasn't long before he rented land near Dell and Luxora; then bought Golden Lake.

In 1937, he married the "pretty girl" working at Wilson Motor Co. They lived at Golden Lake when their son, Gene, was born.

Ten years later, Roy and Eloise had a baby girl who they named Afton. She was named after Eloise's father, Afton Earl Wright.

The family soon moved to Osceola in a house located at Broadway and Elizabeth streets. They later moved across the street from the Presbyterian Church on Johnson; and finally bought the Cartwright home on Semmes. They lived there until they purchased the mansion in 1968.

Roy went on to own farmland throughout Mississippi County as well as Dumas and Lake Village. At various times, he also owned six gins in Luxora, Loudon, Bassett, Golden Lake, Lake Village and Dumas. He also owned an Allis-Chalmers and Minneapolis-Moline equipment company in Bassett.

"Dad was a hard-working man," Cox commented about his father. "His hobby was working ... he was very motivated."

Next generation takes over home

Roy lived in the mansion until his death in 2004. At that time, Gene inherited the family home.

Gene attended school in Osceola through the ninth grade. His parents then sent him to the Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, Tenn. He went on to graduate from Ole Miss and then farmed for four years at Oneida, near Helena.

"Then I came back here and ran dad's equipment company in Bassett." He later purchased Cox Equipment & Farm Supply in Joiner.

Cox met his future bride, Barbara, at a county meeting at the Vo-Tech School in Burdette. Barbara was working for the county extension service at the time.

The couple soon married and had two children, Eugene and Carrie. Eugene is a recent graduate of Mississippi State and Carrie is a student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Afton is now Afton White and lives in Little Rock with her husband, Allen White, also a native of Osceola. Cox explained the two began dating in the fifth grade; grew up and went to different colleges; then got married. Afton is a retired teacher and Allen is a physician. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

Since his father's death, Cox has refurnished the mansion. He has painted every room, replaced some drapes, replaced the windows, completely rewired the home, and replaced the old heating and cooling system with a new geothermal system. He has also added key pieces of furniture to the home.

And the one big thing Cox was glad to say goodbye to? The swimming pool!

"There was an Olympic-size pool with an old filtration system," Cox explained. "And it had four large pecan trees right over the pool."

In the early years when Cox lived with his parents at the mansion, he was the "pool boy."

"I kept telling dad we had to cut down those pecan trees, but he wouldn't hear of it.

"After I moved out, dad redid the pool," he smiled. "Later, when they no longer used the pool and quit putting chlorine in it, it became a pond for turtles.

"It took 19 truckloads of sand to fill in that pool," Cox said. "It was the happiest day of my life."

Happy memories

Many happy memories surround the mansion. Cox said his mother and father both had a sense of humor. "That's the reason they got along," Cox smiled.

"They didn't take each other too seriously. They both enjoyed life. And, they loved to dance.

"Dad was also from the era when men believed 'your word was your bond'." Another trait which not only will ensure a man success in business, but also in his marriage."

Eloise never gave living in the mansion a second thought. In an interview in 1987, she told this writer the mansion was simply her home. She rarely referred to the house as the "Florida Mansion." It was the Cox family home, decorated to please the lady of the

house.

Although the house was decorated in what Eloise called a "contemporary" style, she couldn't help but buy beautiful Oriental pieces. They were her favorite and she couldn't help but shop for the home she loved. What woman would be able to resist?

Would Eloise be happy with her son's decision to endow the family home to the College Foundation?

Gene believes she would.

"She would want someone to take care of it," her son answered.