Edward Hill Brewer was born in 1851 in Cortland, New York. His father was in the harness business; Edward succeeded him and expanded the business, manufacturing carriage accessories. He organized the Cortland Carriage Goods Company (later the Brewer-Tichener Company).
Brewer married Eda Aroa Ainslie in 1878. They had six children together. In 1895, this large family (and one cousin) moved to Winter Park for the benefit of Mr. Brewer, whose health was poor. The Brewers lived in the Chapman Bungalow (the first residence erected in Winter Park) and the Schultz home before purchasing land from Rollins College - including a vast orange grove - on the east shore of Lake Osceola in 1897. Construction began in 1898, and the family moved into "The Palms" in 1899. In order to please Mrs. Brewer, legend has it that the 21-room home was built as an exact replica of the family's home in New York.
Brewer was a generous contributor to the Congregational Church of Winter Park, the Winter Park Public Library, and Rollins College, where he was a trustee. He often left the gates to his beautiful garden, as well as to the entire grounds, open to the public. At age 72, Brewer decided to remodel his home, enlarging it and converting it to the Greek Revival style he had chosen for a Cortland home he had built in 1905. He died in 1924 before his project was completed.
In 1936, the Palms was purchased by Frederick D. Trismen. Today it is located on Trismen Terrace and is one of two Winter Park houses on the National Register of Historic Places.
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| E. H. and Eda Brewer. | E. H. and Eda Brewer(seated in center of photo) with their family in 1922. |
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| Members of the Brewer family on a picnic in Winter Park around 1900. | E. H. and Eda Brewer June 1, 1911. |
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