The Florida Department of Recreation and Parks is refusing to fund renovations of the Patten House, which is a state-owned historical structure and one of the oldest buildings in Manatee County.
ELLENTON — An Ellenton farmhouse built in 1895 may be swept away, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection says, after a single attempt to restore it failed.
The state agency, responsible for historic buildings on state park property, told the Herald-Tribune it is considering “viable options” for the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park that includes demolition and developing the Patten House “as a facade to allow the structure’s visual appearance to be preserved.”
Patty Duke-Lindgren, great-granddaughter of Patten House namesakes Ada and Dudley Patten, says that’s not OK. Her family donated the house located at 3708 Patten Avenue, along Highway 301, in the late 1960s after Ada Patten died at 98.
“This is a property the state promised to maintain when we gave it to them,” Duke-Lindgren said. “That property never would have deteriorated if they had taken care of it the way should have. That’s the bottom line.”
Park handouts say the Gamble Mansion and the Patten House “have been restored to the appearance of their respective historic time periods,” but the Patten House is badly in need of an overhaul.
The Herald-Tribune made multiple requests to speak with Charles Hatcher, assistant director of field operations at the FDEP Division of Recreation and Parks, who was involved with the Patten House project, but the agency would not allow him to be interviewed for this story.
Hatcher provided two statements via spokeswoman Weesam Khoury.
He said after the Florida Park Service began an interior and exterior rehabilitation and repair project of the Patten House, additional and extensive damage was discovered, including dry rot and destruction from carpenter ants and termites.
“The original repair funding was needed and appropriated to Hurricane Irma relief efforts,” the statement said. “A decision regarding renovation has not been made at this time. We are committed to working to ensure interpretation of the history of the Patten House at the state park.”
Four days later, he sent a second statement with a more dismal outlook.
“Once the contractor began the process, there was additional extensive structural damage that was not part of the original quoted bid,” the statement said. “The estimated additional cost was over $180,000 (see Proposed Change Order). This resulted in renovation efforts to be delayed. Due to Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Michael, this funding was reallocated for necessary disaster relief. Department of Recreation and Parks has considered a few options regarding the future of the Patten House, including demolition and developing the Patten House as a faade to allow the structure’s visual appearance to be preserved. However, we have not made a determination at this time. Moving forward, we will continue to look at viable options for the park and priorities throughout the state to successfully interpret and preserve natural and cultural resources.”
Restoration thwarted
In 2017, the state accepted a $497,888 bid from Largo-based construction company Jam 5:20 Inc. to restore the house where Ellenton’s first family was raised. Soon after the renovation began, workers found serious structural damage.
Kenneth Thompson, president of Jam 5:20 Inc., submitted a Proposed Change Order noting the project was delayed because of extensive damage and “non-response” from a state-hired engineer regarding the foundation and existing wall issues. His proposal listed damaged beams, walls, roof, doors, windows, and siding. He said the floors needed leveling.
Thompson requested 180,033 and 107 days to complete major work. The state denied his proposal and shut down the project.
“I was really excited about doing historic preservation,” he said. “Building stuff like that is tender and dear to my heart.”
Khoury said it is unknown if a construction allocation for the Patten House will be included in the 2020 state budget.
Local historian Kathy Flusser said the farmhouse is among the oldest structures left in Manatee County and makes the community unique. She said there are “very few” homes left in the county built in the 1800s.
“When people understand the history of their community they are more invested in it,” Flusser said. “They are more willing to be part of the community and work on community efforts.”
The Manatee County Historical Commission submitted a letter asking the state to protect the Patten House in August 2014. The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization, called the Patten House one of its 11 places to save in Florida in 2018.
The Gamble Estate
From 1845 to 1850, following the Seminole Wars, Robert Gamble built his mansion like a fortress, with walls nearly two feet thick. After he sold the property in 1858, it went into foreclosure.
Maj. George Patten, whose successful cotton brokerage in Savannah, Georgia, was confiscated by Union troops after the Civil War, moved his wife, Mary, and 13 children to Manatee County to rebuild their life. He purchased the Gamble estate for the grand sum of $3,000.
Just 15 years before, Gamble had sold the land for $190,000.
Maj. Patten deeded parcels to his children, who sold the mansion and 10 acres to the state in 1925.
The Gamble mansion joined the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 28, 1970.
A nomination form described the home as a lovely antebellum mansion and “the only Confederate shrine in the state, as well as the oldest building on the southwest coast of Florida.”
Ada and Dudley Patten moved back home after Maj. Patten’s death in 1891. They built the Patten House as a four-room cottage on the southeast hip of the mansion.
As the family grew, the house grew. They added a kitchen, a dining room, and an enclosed back porch. By 1912, the upper story had been added, along with front and side porches. An indoor bathroom was added, but with a peculiarity: Because Dudley Patten did not want a bathroom inside, users could only access it from outdoors.
The house had a beautiful wrap-around porch.
Visitors can hardly tell by looking at it today.
Gray paint on the siding is flaking away and the home is propped on blocks until a decision can be made regarding its fate.
Few descendants of the family come around anymore because they can’t bear the sight of the ramshackle farmhouse.
“We’re fighting the state and we don’t have much hope with that,” Duke-Lindgren said. “It shouldn’t be a fight. The bottom line is it’s wrong.”
Duke-Lindgren said she wants the state to give philanthropists a chance to save the building if they cannot provide timely funding.
“As long as that fireplace is still standing in there — it’s still part of the original structure — as long they have something to work with,” she said. “That is original and historical.”
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State allowing the historic Patten House to crumble and rot - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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