An Afternoon at Vista

About 30 Friends members and visitors enjoyed an afternoon of meandering around the Vista property and taking photos.

We met at the River Trail parking area. Friends president Debbie Meeks presented an brief overview of the history of the property and of future plans for it.

Friends member Bob McKinstry, whose father was the Land and Timber Manager for the Cummer Company, answered questions about Vista's history. Bob was there many times as a boy.

Deputy Refuge Manager John Stark welcomed the group to the Refuge and mentioned that there was a tree planting operation ongoing on a nearby section of the Refuge as we met to walk at Vista.

The group spent a couple of hours of gorgeous Friday afternoon sunshine walking and exploring.

Photos will be highlighted soon in the Photo Gallery on the Wildlife page of this website. A sneak peek is below.

History and Characteristics of the Vista Site

• The Vista camp is a 14 acre property that was part of a massive purchase of cypress timberlands by the Cummer Lumber Company in 1902.  The 100,000 acres (156 square miles) stretched from Fort Fanning to the Gulf.
• There is a historic boat landing slightly upriver that was possibly used by steamboats around 1900 when the Vista site was a cedar sawmill operated by Thomas J. Yearty.
• The camp was largely constructed between 1936 and 1942 by the Cummer Cypress Company.
• It was used as a hunting and fishing resort by male executives of the Cummer company. Sandra jokes that women were not invited.
• The property looks very much the way it did soon after it was completed since many of the trees had already reached mature size. The sabal palms lining the walk to the boat dock have grown up since the 1940's.
• The cook's cabin is a vernacular style building that was originally designed as a duplex and appears identical to worker housing constructed for the Cummer Cypress Company lumber town in Lacoochee. It may have been moved to the site from the company mill town in Sumner. The building retains the original doors and windows, trim and pecky cypress sheathing.
• Nearly 1,000 acres of riverfront land were donated in 1971 by the Cummer Company to the Nature Conservancy and later incorporated into the LSNWR.

Refuge ownership and importance to the Refuge

• Vista was donated in 2011 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Sandra Roe Smith and Linda Roe Alexander, descendants of the Cummer lumber family who held it in a life estate.
• In 2021 ownership was transferred to the Refuge.
• The propert may be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Place
  

What is planned for the property?
It is the intent of the Friends and Refuge to eventually use this property and the historic buildings to develop publicly accessible displays that explore and interpret:

• The role of the forestry industry that developed this area after the Civil War into the mid-late 20th century
• The role of the refuge in bringing the area back to a natural state that protects the Suwannee River and other natural resources and preserves the unique character of this region.

What is the Friends role?

• The Friends, as an independent 501(c)3, is able to secure funding and contract work to preserve Vista more quickly and less expensively than FWS.
• In 2020, Friends used their unique position to secure a $50,000 grant from the state to do a preliminary assessment- the Bender report.
• In 2022, Friends were awarded a $75,000 grant from the state to weatherproof and stabilize the cook's cottage.