April 17, 2005
Oldest Homes Named in 1993 Survived Charley
Consider this a post-Charley report on the status of the five most important Punta Gorda homes in the National Register of Historic Districts – as viewed in Nov. 1993 photos.
Listing a “district” of structures is rare. Back then, there were only two such -- in contrast to thousands of “Historic Places.”
As of this writing, Charlotte County has nine individual Historic Places – in addition to all homes in the Punta Gorda’s Historic District more than 50 years old.
In Punta Gorda, the stand-alone structures are: Charlotte High School, Old First National Bank Building, Freeman House, Atlantic Coast Line Depot, and (heavily damaged) Punta Gorda Ice Plant.
Registered places elsewhere in the county are El Jobean Post Office and General Store, El Jobean Hotel (dilapidated), Fish Icing Station at Bull Bay, and Big Mound Key Archeological District (restricted).
The Knight-Willis General Store in Charlotte Harbor town – once on the Register -- was destroyed by the county as unsafe though the owner had applied for permits to restore it.
At least a half dozen other county structures outside the Punta Gorda historic residential district are believed to be eligible for the National Register.
Top Five
Today’s installment of Our Fascinating Past is, essentially, a reprint of an article published by the Sun-Herald about the hasty demolition of two, significant homes by the city of Punta Gorda. They were the Denham and Dewey houses.
Historian U.S. Cleveland, and I objected strenuously. I opined that we “didn’t want to save every historic structure because that would not be practical.”
However, “Four or five representative houses in a central area -- for preservation purposes -- are the ultimate goal we would like to see reached.”
While many homes and landmarks were worthy of saving, the Sun-Herald challenged us to name five in the old, residential district teetering on respectable-shabby.
This was a tough assignment, but we settled on the following, as reported:
The Farrington House (1895) 108 Gill St.
This two-story home has a wide veranda that overlooks Charlotte Harbor. It has what Williams and Cleveland call “gingerbread” decorations along the edges of the front of the home and along a historic brick pavement.
The home was first owned by John Farrington, an insurance broker who moved to Florida to alleviate his emphysema. When he came to Punta Gorda, he became active in early industries like the ice factory and the Punta Gorda Bank
He died at a young age because of his health problems, and his widow Sadi took over matters. She provided for her three children and eventually sold the house in 1925 for $12,500.
Since then, it has been owned by the Rev. S.F. Stevens. The current owner is Mrs. Mary Maxwell, a widow who has maintained it since her husband Roscoe’s death in 1961.
The Wotitzsky House (1888) 110 Gilchrist St.
Immigrant Jacob Wotitzsky, a Jewish pushcart peddler from Czechoslovakia, built a successful mercantile career in Punta Gorda. He moved his family to the area because of the climate, which he hoped would help his wife Rosa’s ill health.
He purchased a small cottage to house his family while he launched a shipping service on the water with his ship “Mollie O.” Since that initial building, the home has been enlarged and new siding added.
The Hinckley House (1890) southeast corner of Retta Esplanade and McGregor.
While the house is noted for a later owner Kelly P. Harvey -- “a man who had a great impact on the village that was to become the county seat” -- it was originally owned by Summer P. and Mattie Lee Hinckley.
Hinckley was a merchant who owned a sailing sloop named “Tempest.” He died and left the home to his wife who later married Harvey in 1896.
Harvey enlarged the home with a bedroom the tower that is still there today. His “rocky” marriage to Mattie ended when she died. He later married Elva L. Park who purchased the home from his former wife’s family for Harvey.
The Sandlin House (1893) on the west corner of Retta Esplanade and Harvey Street.
Classified as a “widow’s walk home,” the Sandlin House overlooks Charlotte Harbor. It has had four owners since being built by James L. and Mary Lula Sandlin.
Sandlin made a fortune in many businesses in Charlotte County – real estate, cattle, citrus and merchandising.
The home was sold to attorney Frank Smoak, Jr., in 1925 and was occupied for a while in the 1960s by the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church for a Sunday school.
The Goulding Cottage (1890) 621 W. Retta Esplanade.
It is an example of one of the many “fishermen’s cottages” that overlooked the harbor. These are called “dark to dark” houses because two men could construct one from the dark of dawn to the dark of evening.
The little Goulding cottage was one of the many built more than 100 years ago by north Carolina fishermen who moved here to harvest the bounty of Charlotte Harbor.
It was owned by the late Harry “Pete” Goulding and his wife of 60 years, Reba. There may be some older fishermen cottages that have not yet been documented.
First Baptist Church (1892-5) at corner of Olympia and Cross Streets.
This particular landmark is a special one that Williams would hate to see demolished because it is a building that affected the early growth of the entire town
It was built between 1892 and 1895, but the exact dates have not yet been pinned down.
Houses are History
The downtown area has been designated a Local Historic District by City Council after it was turned down for National Register recognition because it lacked 80 percent of 50-year-old structures.
Williams says 13 houses in the last three years have been lost out of the National District – four of which were historic.
First to go was the Hector House where founders signed a Punta Gorda City Charter in 1887. The building was demolished as “termite ridden” – even though Ken Larkin of the history society had raised money to move and restore it.
This summer, the Cooper House built about 1898 -- owned by winter resident Judge William Fennimore Cooper -- went up in flames by accidental fire. New owners replaced it with a replica.
End of 1993 article.
Epilogue
Good news in this 2005 column is that the houses singled out 12 years ago for recognition have survived -- though with some damage.
Bad news is that the Up-and-down House on the corner of West Marion Ave. and Goldstein St. was destroyed.
The two Herald buildings between West Marion and Herald Court, and the 1899 Ice House were fatally damaged.
The Charlotte High School was severely damaged but is being restored at great cost. The Cigar Cottage in the History Park was severely damaged but Punta Gorda History members and friends have put it back together.
The Old Court House was severely damaged but is repairable at great cost. Its fate is being debated.
The 1903 Freeman Home was damaged but the Charlotte Community Foundation has given it to the city, which will move it to the northwest corner of East Marion Ave and Booth Street adjacent to the scenic Trabue walk.
In the 1993 article, U.S. Cleveland and I concentrated on houses we knew to have been built prior to 1900 and affiliated with significant people.
The oldest structure in Punta Gorda certainly is the land office built in 1886 by Col. Isaac Trabue and beautifully maintained by the Punta Gorda History Society in the Shreve Street History Park.
At the time of the 1993 newspaper article, the fate of the second oldest building – a community meeting hall built by Trabue, in 1887, was not known. It had been sold to the First Methodist Church and believed destroyed by a 1914 storm.
A few years ago it was discovered to have been moved in 1914 and incorporated into a larger home being renovated at 233 Harvey St. The remnant of the old bell tower, choir loft and sanctuary were easily identified after 1914 interior walls were stripped. The private home suffered some damage but remained sturdy.
The Trabue office, and community/church hall, renovations were seriously damaged by Hurricane Charley but since repaired.
The oldest known house in Charlotte Harbor town was built on Laura Street in 1899 by John Hagan, a prominent cattleman. It is now owned and beautifully restored by Victor Larrison and suffered only a little roof damage.
It is certain that there are other Century Buildings in Punta Gorda and Charlotte County that have not yet been identified and properly recognized.
Have you checked your old abstract lately?
Author: Lindsey Williams
