Vista Progress

Our grant from the Florida Division of Historic Resources, supporting the effort to make the Cook's House weather tight, is entering a new phase. Led by Friends' former president Debbie Meeks, work to restore the windows is almost complete. Over the next few months the building's foundation will be stabilized, the roof will be replaced, and walls will be weatherized. After that, Friends will probably be seeking volunteers to paint and do other finish work on the building, inside and out.

They had to be cleaned, labeled, removed, taken to the workshop, disassembled, restored, and reassembled. This one is at the "cleaned" step.

This one is being restored at the workshop.

Trimming the final coat of paint near the end of the process.

The Vista Master Plan Concept and drawings are being updated to reflect the reality that some buildings were too far gone to be saved, including a two-story garage, and that we have new ideas for landscaping, trails, the pollinator garden, and interpretive signage. Those are being added. You can review the first draft of the plan here.

One of the Master Plan Concept drawings by Mark Gluckman.

Friends' former board member Bob McKinstry has a long, rich history with Vista. His father was the Land and Timber Manager for the Cummer Company which owned Vista. Bob was there many times as a boy. His family holds an extensive collection of photos from his father's era with the company and made them available for Friends to copy and curate. Board members Bill Dummitt and Debbie Meeks have recently completed scanning and digitizing this collection to preserve it for future displays onsite.

Cook's House flooded in 1948.

The Houseboat at the dock

Refuge Manager Andrew Gude and Friends' board member Debbie Meeks met with Vista donors Sandra Roe Smith and Linda Roe Alexander for lunch a few weeks ago to review all that has happened since they first gave the property to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011, and particularly since they ended their life tenancy of the property and turned it over to the Refuge in 2021.

Looking to the Main House, it is now clear that the foundation and the roof,  both need work soon. Friends is getting estimates for those projects and will need to find funding to support that work.

The roof needs to be replaced.

The pilings beneath the house need to be stabilized.

The Suwannee River has run high this spring. The Vista grounds between the river bank and the Main House have flooded, reminding us all of how beautiful this place is and how it reflects the amazing natural history of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge of which it is a part. More photos are posted on the homepage.

A manatee came to the Vista dock in the high water.

A volunteer stands on the walkway with flooding around her and the boat house.