The river-facing porch on the main house
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A unique and now nearly ruined houseboat was used as supplemental lodging for the family after being set on pilings when it was no longer seaworthy.
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Life Tenancy
In in 2011, the 11 acre Vista in-holding was gifted to USFWS under a life-tenancy agreement. Sisters, Sandra Roe Smith and Linda Roe Alexander, and their families enjoyed and maintained the property until 2020 when they relinquished their interest in it to the Refuge.
The Charrette
Early in 2018, Friends held a charrette, a formal, moderator led gathering in which stakeholders discussed options for the eventual use of the land and buildings. The result was general agreement to use the gift as an information and interpretation station for visitors, telling the story of its history and the Refuge’s role in conserving and managing the surrounding lands
The Historic Structure Assessment Report
In summer of 2018, Friends applied for and received a $50,000 grant from the State of Florida Division of Historical Resources to hire Bender & Associates Architects who conducted exhaustive historical research and wrote a structural assessment of the 12 buildings that existed on the property at that time. Concluding that Vista appears eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places as a cultural landscape.
Completed in 2020, the report documents that the modest structures at Vista were built in the 1930s and early 1940s, with relatively minor additions and upgrades made through the 1960s. The property still includes these historic structures, preserved like time-capsules. Among them is the Main House, a building in mostly good repair that served as a rustic but comfortable short-term lodging for Cummer Company surveyors and company executives.
The Cook’s House was likely company-built lodging for workers and may have been moved to Vista from Sumner. It may be older than the other structures. The building has much to tell visitors about who lived and worked in this part of Florida, including many African-American workers.
The site has a boathouse and dock that gave access to the river with its abundant fish and wildlife. They were rehabilitated after a 1948 flood but currently are again needing a major restoration to be safe and usable.
Completed in 2020, the report documents that the modest structures at Vista were built in the 1930s and early 1940s, with relatively minor additions and upgrades made through the 1960s. The property still includes these historic structures, preserved like time-capsules. Among them is the Main House, a building in mostly good repair that served as a rustic but comfortable short-term lodging for Cummer Company surveyors and company executives.
The Cook’s House was likely company-built lodging for workers and may have been moved to Vista from Sumner. It may be older than the other structures. The building has much to tell visitors about who lived and worked in this part of Florida, including many African-American workers.
The site has a boathouse and dock that gave access to the river with its abundant fish and wildlife. They were rehabilitated after a 1948 flood but currently are again needing a major restoration to be safe and usable.
Inventories and Garden Plans
While work proceeded on at the Cook’s House in 2024, Friends’ board and other members pondered next steps. Short-term repairs recommended by the structural assessment for the Main House were considered. The effects of hurricanes and building deterioration began to threaten the artifacts so items from the garages and boat house were moved to safer locations. Items in the Main House were curated. A conceptual plan for a possible pollinator landscape was laid out by volunteers with guidance from native plant and pollinator experts.
Friends cleans and curates
Conceptual Master Site Plan
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Friends’ former board member Mark Gluckman who has extensive professional experience in site planning, prepared a conceptual master plan. It addresses the entire site, including a boardwalk past the former landing for steamboats and through the former cypress swamp.
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