In the mid-1880s Alexander and Eleonora Kern, along with their two children, moved to the new settlement of Clermont, Fl. They traveled by steamboat bringing two horses and a wagon. Over the years, this team served for transporting many people and their belongings from the steamboat landing in Yalaha over the sandhills to Clermont.

The Kerns purchased eight vacant lots on Montrose Street and built their two-story frame house in the vicinity.

Alexander was one of the 31 pioneers who signed the original legal notice of organization of the Town of Clermont on June 9, 1891.

He also built and operated the first public water system in Clermont. In 1897, Alexander Kern purchased the Wilson General Merchandise Store at Montrose and 8th Street and operated it until his death in 1907. The Kern house was built in approximately 1885. It was moved to the Historic Village site in 2006 and has been open to the public since 2008.