Valentine House at Robinson Preserve

Built in the late 1800s, in Palmetto, Florida, about two miles across the Manatee River, the Valentine House was owned by the Preston family on several hundred acres of citrus groves that made up the family’s Manatee Fruit Co.

The home was moved in 2009 to its current location at the Robinson Reserve, a 682-acre coastal preserve and recreation area in northwest Bradenton. 

The move was a herculean undertaking that consisted of multiple modes of transportation and routes, both on land and sea. First, the house was lifted onto trailers and driven onto a barge. The home was then floated on the barge west through Tampa Bay and across the mouth of the Manatee River. Once back on land, the house was driven along two trails in the nature preserve to its new location. In all, the house traveled eight miles. 

In 2010, after a year of restoration work, the house was opened to the public, and, today, it serves as the welcome center with exhibits for the nature preserve.