RE Log Fall 2016

FALL 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 7 The Scrububs’ most famous owners Kirk Munroe was born in Wisconsin to a Harvard-educated father and wealthy mother who devoted their lives to service as Christian missionaries. Munroe followed his father to Harvard, but dropped out after only a year and headed west, eager to explore the American frontier. He made his way to Mississippi, then the Dakotas, Montana and Washington state. In 1876, he be- gan working as a reporter for the New York Sun, submitting dispatches about General Custer, Little Big Horn and Native Americans. He worked as an editor for Harper’s magazine for young people, then devoted himself to writing, becoming a prolific author lauded for his children’s works. Munroe found his way to Florida through another celebrated novelist; in 1881, he was invited to the winter home in Jacksonville of Harriett Beecher Stowe and her family. Two years later, he married Mary Barr. The family of Mary Barr Munroe had moved to Galveston, Texas, from Scotland when she was two, but her father suffered from the change of scenery; he died of yellow fever within three years. Her widowed mother, Amelia Barr, moved the family to New York, where she began tutoring students and writing to earn a living. Sixty-seven books later, Amelia Barr had established a reputation as one of the finest writers of that era. Her daughter learned independence, forbearance and industriousness from her mother – traits that benefited her when she and her young husband, Kirk Munroe, traveled to Lake Worth, Fla., on a wedding trip, then sailed on to South Florida. When they reached Coconut Grove, the newlyweds took one look around and fell in love all over again – this time, with the land. In January 1887, Kirk and Mary Barr Munroe purchased a bayfront tract that belonged to Kitty and George Roberts and included a simple, barn-style home. In a hand-written note, Kirk Munroe explained the origin of the property’s distinctive nickname, an intentional and comical butchery of “suburbs.” The local environs, he wrote, consisted of “rugged rock, primeval forest, dense undergrowth matted with a tangle of pines and palmetto scrub…. Suburbs! It is more like a ‘Scrububs.’” Added Munroe: “With that utterance the house name of this abiding place became unalterably fixed.” Serving the community at Scrububs The new settlers in Florida joined a small commu- nity; barely 100 pioneers called Coconut Grove home around that time. Kirk Munroe, who immediately be- came the young town’s most famous resident, had already made his fortune through writing and had little interest in chasing personal suc- cess. Instead, the Munroes sought to establish the cultural life of Coconut Grove, promot- ing access to education, better circum- stances for less-fortunate residents and the protection of the natural environ- ment. The Munroes jointly founded the Coconut Grove library, providing many of its original books from their per- sonal collection at Scrububs. For nearly three decades, Kirk Munroe served as president of the Coconut Grove Library Association. He loved to entertain lo- cal boys by inviting them to Scrububs, reading from his novels and telling them The Munroes sought to establish the cultural life of Coconut Grove, promoting access to education, better circumstances for less-fortunate residents and the protection of the natural environment.