BRADENTON -- Hundreds of people toured the newly restored Valentine House on Saturday during Manatee County Natural Resources grand re-opening event at Robinson Preserve. But there were some at the event who knew it inside and out for over 100 years, and folks know them around town as the Valentine family.
Generations of the Valentine family greeted people touring the historical home on Saturday, May 1, the day the Valentine House re-opened just in time to welcome visitors to Robinson Preserve and to open a new chapter of history for the home.
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An Emerson Point Preserve volunteer welcomed folks to the restored Valentine House on Saturday at Robinson Preserve. |
Mary Alice Lane Valentine said she remembers the first time she saw the house.
”The very first time I was ever in it I was about 14 years old,“ Mary Valentine said. ”Randolph Valentine – he’s always been called Randy – took me over to meet his mother. It was one of the most beautiful homes I’ve ever seen.“
She holds the arm of her son for balance, John Valentine, one of her three children at the house on Saturday to celebrate its new role in the community. John Valentine’s family was also there; bringing together several generations of Valentines.
”My husband, Randolph Valentine, this was his house,“ she said, looking over the original fireplace to a photo of the house that sat on the groves. ”His parents lived here first.“
But it was a ride to Sharps drugstore that stole Mary Valentine’s heart, and the day she knew she’d marry Randolph Valentine after they both completed high school.
Manatee County Natural Resources Education Manager, Melissa Nell, said Robinson Preserve is the crown jewel of Manatee County’s publicly owned natural preserves.
”Now, the Valentine House is really important to us because we can do a lot with the community with it,“ she said. ”Inside there is the new welcome center room, which will be mostly manned by volunteers. Here folks can go inside and get info about anything in Robinson Preserve.“
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| John Valentine, from left, son of Mary Valentine shared their excitement over the newly restored house and its community role at the preserve. |
She added that the Valentine House was built in the late 1800’s in North Palmetto and served as a homestead for more than 100 years. Before being relocated from Palmetto to the preserve via barge, it was on the property of a citrus grove managed by Randolph Valentine, who lived in the house with his wife, Mary Valentine.
Nell said that by the mid-2000s, the old home and a smaller neighboring building were in disrepair and in danger of being demolished. The Preston family donated the Valentine House and the other building to Manatee County.
“In 2007, during a dramatic relocation from downtown Palmetto, crews floated the Valentine House down the Manatee River to its current location at Robinson,“ she said. ”The smaller structure was taken to Emerson Point Park on Sneed Island, west of Palmetto.“
Three rooms on the bottom floor serve the people visiting Robinson, which included a discovery center, with a giant mangrove habitat, an interactive kiosk about the wildlife in the preserve and an artifact cabinet.
One room hosted an exhibition filled with historical images from the Palma Sola area. But all rooms on the bottom floor serve to educate and inform all people visiting Robinson for the day.
”It’s really, really busy today,“ Nell said, as she leaned against the front porch and looked down at a steady flow of incoming visitors. ”Even before we opened Robinson, people were banging down our doors to help with the preserve and to see what was gong on. So, the excitement over the Valentine House goes right along with the support we’ve had, from the beginning, with the preserve.“
John Lane Valentine said repeatedly on Saturday that he appreciated the amount of people that joined in the re-opening celebration.
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| Three generations of the Valentine family greeted people at its grand re-opening on Saturday at Robinson Preserve. |
”It makes me feel so humbled,“ he said. ”I appreciate all the work that went into the house. It was in such bad condition and now our family and everyone who comes to Robinson Preserve can enjoy it, once again.“
On Friday, The Bradenton Times will share with readers exactly what was restored in the house, how it was moved and the cost behind it all to save one of Manatee County’s oldest treasures.
But keep in mind, the Valentine House is no stranger to tough times.
”Francis Livingston, she was well-known in Manatee County, had a home out on the island,“ Mary Valentine said, as the event wrapped up on Saturday. ”We were having one of our hurricanes, so she came to our house to be safe and sat right in there in the dining room having dinner when one of the oak trees fell on the roof right above her head.
”It was always kind of joke that she came out to get away from the storm and the storm followed her. I have a special spot in my heart for this home and always will.“
Erica Newport is a daily reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers art, culture and community. If you have a story that might interest Erica, please e-mail her using erica.newport@thebradentontimes.com address. She also takes your questions related to our weekly theme days and provides advice and opinions for our readers.
Please use this e-mail address for Ask Erica: ask.erica@thebradentontimes.com.
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