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Chalgran Home
Chalgran as painted by Agnes Granberry Chalker (Gammie)
Chalgran was the family home for 77 years. The property in Orange Park, Florida was purchased in December of 1945. It included 10.17 acres that stretched from over 250 feet on the St. Johns River to Highway 17 in the rear. The address, when purchased, was 927 River Boulevard, later changed to 634 River Road. The story goes that as soon as Gammie saw the property, she cried "This is it!". She coined the name Chalgran to combine the names Chalker and Granberry, the names of the original owners.
Agnes and Selwyn Chalker along with Agnes's sister Hallie Granberry bought the property from Eber and Corrine Preble for $10,000. There was a $3,500 down payment and the $6,500 balance was paid off monthly at $55. The record book shows that Agnes and Hallie each paid $27.50 monthly until the mortgage was fully paid in 1955. A second mortgage of $2,500 was taken out in 1946 for repairs and improvements to the house with Hallie contributing 1/3 to those payments. Hallie later took out a loan to build her attachment to the house for her personal living quarters.
When it was purchased the house looked very different.
There was no kitchen and it had dark siding. The wood exterior on the ground floor was later replaced with concrete block.
The garage shown here was enclosed and became the main living room.Â
The only staircase was on the outside of the house.
There were dozens of live oak, pecan, magnolia, redbud, fig, and plum trees on the property.
Repairs and improvements began right away.
The house was painted white and the fireplace was moved. Later the porch shown above was enclosed and the second floor was expanded to enlarge the upstairs bedrooms. An addition was also added to provide a bedroom and tiny bathroom for J. A. on the south side of the house.
Hallie Granberry had an addition built for her personal living quarters around 1958 at her own expense.
Gammie was responsible for transforming the house into a beautiful home. She had the vision!
Picnic Table
Picnic Table
Many meals were enjoyed around the picnic table in the back yard.
The Terrace
The Terrace
The terrace was a favorite family gathering place to enjoy the river view. Aggie and Jack were married there as were Matt and Trisha.
Aggie and Jack Watson built a house over an existing structure and lived at Chalgran the rest of their lives. Their daughter and her husband later moved into the house and lived there for 46 years.
Hallijeanne Chalker came to live at Chalgran when she retired from the State Department in 1972 and lived there for the rest of her life.
Watson OP House.pdfNewspaper story about the Watson house.
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