The Stone Houses

Just a short way down 12th Avenue is the charming stone cottage built by stonemason O.G. Creel as a residence for his family. That was in 1937, and it marked the beginning of a building spree of stone houses into the surrounding neighborhood and beyond.

There are about a dozen of Creel’s well-constructed stone houses still remaining in Indian Rocks Beach. They often go unnoticed by casual passersby since they blend right in with the local old-Florida ambiance. The rocks were quarried near Crystal River, Florida, and trucked to the job sites. Creel’s construction methods were ahead of their time, as the thick stone-and-concrete walls were resistant to summer heat and strong winds.

While Creel went on to build stone houses around the U.S., Indian Rocks Beach is fortunate to have the largest surviving collection of these unique architectural gems.