Stranahan House To Celebrate Fort Lauderdale’s Founding Families At Fourth Annual Fall Festival

The Historic Stranahan House Museum will host its Fourth Annual Founding Families Fall Festival on Friday, September 25th, 2026, bringing residents, families and visitors together for an evening of music, food, games and history on the banks of the New River.

The festival will take place from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Stranahan House, 335 Southeast 6th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301. A special ceremony honoring Fort Lauderdale’s founding families is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults, while children will be admitted free.

Organizers describe the annual festival as a celebration of the families who helped establish Fort Lauderdale and shape the community that would eventually become one of South Florida’s best-known cities. The event also serves an important purpose for the museum: All proceeds will support the Historic Stranahan House Museum’s year-round historic preservation and educational programs.

For an evening, the oldest surviving house in Fort Lauderdale will serve not simply as a museum, but as a gathering place where the community can celebrate its past while supporting the preservation of that history for future generations.

The festival will feature food trucks, beer and wine vendors, games, live music and activities designed for guests of all ages. Complimentary Water Taxi rides will also be provided, offering festivalgoers a uniquely Fort Lauderdale way to arrive at the event and experience the city from the water.

With the New River as the backdrop, the setting is particularly fitting.

Long before Fort Lauderdale became a city known for its beaches, waterways, tourism and downtown skyline, the New River was central to the development of the small settlement that would eventually become the city. Stranahan House stands as one of the most tangible reminders of that early history.

Built in 1901, Stranahan House is widely recognized as the birthplace of Fort Lauderdale. The building was originally constructed as a trading post and later served as a post office, town hall and residence for Frank Stranahan and his wife, Ivy Cromartie Stranahan.

Frank Stranahan is remembered as Fort Lauderdale’s first businessman and one of the community’s most respected pioneers. Ivy Cromartie Stranahan, meanwhile, became the area’s first schoolteacher and an influential advocate for civic, educational, social service and environmental causes.

Their lives were closely intertwined with the development of the early community, and their home became a gathering place and important institution during Fort Lauderdale’s formative years.

That history is central to the museum’s mission today.

The Historic Stranahan House Museum seeks to tell the story of the birth of the community through the lives of Frank and Ivy Stranahan and the homestead they created. The museum also works to preserve, interpret and promote the house, its historic site and the broader story of Fort Lauderdale’s founding family.

The Founding Families Fall Festival provides a natural extension of that mission.

Rather than presenting history solely through exhibits, artifacts and guided tours, the festival gives the community an opportunity to experience the historic property as a living part of Fort Lauderdale.

The event is also an important fundraiser for the museum, helping support programs that operate throughout the year.

Stranahan House opened as a museum in 1984. Since then, it has become one of Fort Lauderdale’s leading cultural attractions and an important destination for both tourists and local residents interested in learning more about the city’s origins.

Each year, more than 3,000 fourth-grade schoolchildren visit the historic site as part of educational programming, while approximately 30,000 tourists and locals visit the House and museum.

For those students, Stranahan House can provide a tangible connection to lessons about local history. Instead of learning about Fort Lauderdale’s early development only from textbooks, they can walk through the same historic structure where some of the community’s earliest civic and commercial activities took place.

For tourists and longtime residents alike, the property offers a glimpse of a Fort Lauderdale that existed long before the modern skyline, high-rise buildings and busy downtown streets became familiar features of the city.

That connection between the past and present is expected to be a central theme of this year’s festival.

The Founding Families Fall Festival is particularly focused on honoring the people and families who played a role in establishing the community. Their contributions helped create the civic institutions, schools, businesses and traditions that would become the foundation of modern Fort Lauderdale.

While the city has changed dramatically since the early 1900s, the stories of those early residents remain part of its identity.

Frank Stranahan’s role in the community began with his trading post along the New River. His business became an important meeting point in a developing settlement, and his work placed him at the center of the community’s early commercial life.

Ivy Stranahan’s influence extended into education and civic engagement. As the area’s first schoolteacher, she played an important role in the education of local children. Her later involvement in environmental, social service and civic causes further established her as a significant figure in the region’s history.

Together, the Stranahans represent two important dimensions of Fort Lauderdale’s beginnings: the practical work of building a community and the civic commitment required to help that community grow.

Their legacy is one reason the museum continues to place education and preservation at the center of its work.

The festival’s fundraising component will help ensure that the historic property remains available to future generations. Preserving an early structure such as Stranahan House involves more than maintaining an old building. It also requires preserving the stories, traditions and historical context associated with the site.

The museum’s programs allow visitors to understand not only what the House looks like, but why it matters.

The September festival will give the public another opportunity to support that work while enjoying an evening of community entertainment.

Sponsors are also playing an important role in the event. The Historic Stranahan House Museum has expressed its appreciation to its generous sponsors, including Amazon and Tripp Scott.

Businesses, organizations and individuals interested in supporting the festival can also participate through sponsorship and underwriting opportunities. Sponsorship levels range from $500 to $5,000.

Those interested in sponsorship opportunities can contact Executive Director Jennifer Belt by email at: director@stranahanhouse.org. Or email: director@stranahanhouse.org. Or by telephone at: (954) 524-4736.

For festival attendees, however, the evening will be about more than fundraising.

The combination of food trucks, live music, games and vendors is intended to make the event accessible to the entire community. Families can attend together, children can participate in activities and adults can enjoy food and beverages while taking in the atmosphere of the historic property and waterfront.

The complimentary Water Taxi rides add another distinctly local element to the celebration.

Fort Lauderdale’s waterways have always been central to its identity, and the Water Taxi offers visitors an opportunity to experience the city from the same network of waterways that played such an important role in its early development.

The New River, in particular, has been a defining feature of Fort Lauderdale’s history. Its waters provided transportation and helped connect the community during the city’s earliest years. Today, the river remains one of the most recognizable elements of the downtown landscape.

Having the festival on the riverfront therefore creates a physical connection between the event and the history being celebrated.

The 6:15 p.m. ceremony will provide the evening’s most formal moment, when founding families are honored for their contributions to the development of Fort Lauderdale.

The ceremony is expected to highlight the individuals and families whose efforts helped transform the area from a small settlement into the thriving community it is today.

For a city that has experienced extraordinary growth, such recognition serves as a reminder that Fort Lauderdale’s history was built by generations of residents whose contributions may otherwise be forgotten.

The museum’s role is to make sure those stories remain part of the community’s collective memory.

That responsibility has become increasingly significant as Fort Lauderdale continues to grow and change. New development has transformed the city’s neighborhoods and downtown, while an expanding population and tourism industry have brought new generations of residents and visitors to the area.

Historic landmarks such as Stranahan House provide a link between that rapidly changing present and the community’s earliest days.

The museum’s work ensures that the history of Fort Lauderdale is not simply something that belongs in the past. It remains a resource for understanding how the city developed and why the community looks the way it does today.

The Founding Families Fall Festival reflects that philosophy by bringing history into a community celebration.

The event will be held at Stranahan House, located at 335 Southeast 6th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301. Complimentary parking will be available at the Riverside Hotel, located at 620 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301.

Visitors should plan to arrive between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., with the special founding families ceremony taking place at 6:15 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults, and children can attend free of charge.

Additional information and tickets are available through the Historic Stranahan House Museum’s website at: https://stranahanhouse.org/ffff/.

The museum itself is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., giving visitors who want to learn more about the site an opportunity to explore it outside of the festival.

The September event is also an invitation to residents who may have lived in Fort Lauderdale for years but have never visited the historic property.

It can be easy for people who live near a historic landmark to take it for granted. Stranahan House, however, is not simply an old building sitting among modern Fort Lauderdale. It is a surviving piece of the city’s earliest history and a place where the story of the community can be experienced firsthand.

The House has witnessed generations of change.

When it was built in 1901, Fort Lauderdale was a very different place. The city that residents know today—with its major tourism industry, extensive canal system, downtown development and international reputation—was still decades away.

The Stranahan family was part of the small community that laid the groundwork for that future.

Today, the House stands as a reminder of their work and of the many other families whose contributions helped shape the city.

That is the significance behind the Founding Families Fall Festival.

It is a celebration, but it is also an act of preservation. By bringing people together at the historic site, the museum hopes to strengthen the community’s connection to its past and generate support for the programs that keep that history accessible.

The festival also illustrates how historic preservation can be a community experience rather than simply an academic pursuit.

A child playing a game on the grounds, a family arriving by Water Taxi, a visitor listening to live music beside the New River or a longtime resident attending the founding families ceremony may all experience the historic site differently. Yet each is participating in the continued life of a place that has been part of Fort Lauderdale for more than 120 years.

For the museum, those experiences are part of the preservation effort.

The goal is not only to maintain the physical structure, but to ensure that future generations understand why it matters.

The Fourth Annual Founding Families Fall Festival will provide another opportunity to do exactly that.

As the sun begins to set over the New River on Friday, September 25th, 2026 Fort Lauderdale residents and visitors will gather at the city’s oldest house for an evening that combines the past with the present.

There will be food, music, games and festivities. There will be a ceremony honoring the people who helped build the community. And there will be the historic Stranahan House itself—a reminder of the people, businesses, schools and civic institutions that formed the foundation of modern Fort Lauderdale.

For a community whose identity is so closely tied to its waterways and its history, the setting could hardly be more appropriate.

The Founding Families Fall Festival is ultimately an invitation to remember where Fort Lauderdale began while helping ensure that its earliest stories remain available to those who will call the city home in the years ahead.

When:

Friday, September 25th, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Ceremony: 6:15 p.m.

Where:

Stranahan House

335 Southeast 6th Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Cost:

Adults: $5

Children: Free

How:

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: https://stranahanhouse.org/ffff/.

Sponsorship and underwriting opportunities are available and range from $500 to $5,00. For more information, please contact Executive Director Jennifer Belt by email at: director@stranahanhouse.org. Or call: (954) 524-4736.

Complimentary parking is available at the Riverside Hotel, located at 620 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301.

The Historic Stranahan House Museum is located at 335 Southeast 6th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 and is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. More information about the museum, its history, programs and upcoming events is available at: https://stranahanhouse.org.