A MARRIAGE AT THE SAMPLE-McDOUGALD HOUSE
by Margaret McDougald Shadoin
The historic Sample-McDougald House, located at 450 NE 10th Street, Pompano Beach, was the scene of a wedding on October 16, 2011 at 4:30 P. M.
Sarah Yonn and Michael LeFebvre,Jr. were joined in holy matrimony at Sarah’s family home. As granddaughter of William D. and Sarah E. McDougald, the original McDougald owners of the House, the bride felt honored to be married there.
Sarah, like her mother Dixie, was born to the House. Dixie, the youngest of the McDougald children, was born in 1948 and continued to live in the House after her marriage to Richard Yonn. During those years, their daughter Sarah was born and lived there through most of her childhood years.
Soon after Sarah’s birth, her mother Dixie announced that Sarah would someday be married at her beloved family home. So, the plan was put into action when Michael and Sarah recently became engaged.
The wedding ceremony took place inside the Sample-McDougald House, guests seated in living and dining room area of the magnificently restored home. The only wedding ever held previously at the House was W.D. and Sarah McDougald’s eldest daughter Mary Ellen’s marriage to C. M. Cook, Jr. in 1949.
The place of the wedding is of special interest to Broward Countians because The Sample-McDougald House is a well-known historic landmark, and is listed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.
It was built on North Dixie Highway in 1916 by A. N. Sample and purchased by W. D. and Sarah McDougald in 1943. Both Samples and McDougalds were large scale local farmers and held county and city elected offices as well as making many positive contributions to the development and welfare of the community.
The Samples moved here from South Carolina in 1916 and the McDougalds resided in the neighboring small town of Deerfield until their 1943 purchase of the House.
In 2001, the McDougald heirs donated their beloved family home to a local not-for-profit organization, The Sample-McDougald House Preservation Society. The House was moved from its original site to its present location on Northeast 10th Street in Pompano Beach, and is scheduled to open soon as a house museum, reflecting the lifestyles of its former owners. With special assistance from Broward County, the City of Pompano Beach, and numerous citizens, the House is now surrounded by a beautifully landscaped 4-acre site named Centennial Park.
The wedding party consisted of the bride, Sarah Yonn; the bridegroom, Michael LeFebvre,Jr., Maid of Honor, Carrie Hemeon; Best man, Ryan LeFebvre; Bridesmaids, Melissa Mann and Angie Morgan; Groomsmen, Tony Chessari and Thom Cirrucci; Flower Girl, Kennedy Toth; Officiant, Brandon Radcliff.
