A 24-room mansion in Audubon Park was built by the son of the man who invented Beeman’s Pepsin Gum. Lester Beeman constructed the three-story estate overlooking Lake Sue in 1890. His father, Edwin Beeman, invented Beeman’s Pepsin Gum and sold the company to American Chicle Co. in 1899.
Edwin Beeman was born in LaGrange, Ohio, and practiced medicine. He treated digestive disorders using pepsin, an extract from pig stomachs. An employee suggested adding pepsin to chewing gum in 1890, and Beeman founded his gum company in 1891 (we hope the employee got a raise). The sale eight years later made the family multi-millionaires.
Mary Cobb Beeman, Edwin’s wife, started spending winters near Orlando in the early 1880s. She purchased an estate on Lake Sue. Their sons, Harry and Lester, both moved to Florida, and Lester later graduated from Rollins College in 1889.
The brothers invested in real estate, citrus, and ranching. They each built homes on adjacent 40-acre parcels along Lake Sue, and Harry purchased the San Juan Hotel in downtown Orlando in 1893.
The mansion became known locally as the Bubblegum House. Rumors claim the house operated as an exclusive gathering spot for Orlando’s wealthy elite during the early 1900s, but by the 1930s, the estate was converted into the Ann Lisbeth Seese School for Girls.
The house still stands today as a private residence with a public park across the street still bearing their name. The surrounding area is actually called Beeman Park. Edwin Beeman is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
