Preserving the past at Phillippi Estate Park

Money for real estate projects is scarce nationally and locally,

 and that goes for preservation and restoration efforts, no matter how worthy.

A matching state grant for about $180,000, which would have gone a long way toward helping restore a 1916 vernacular farmhouse on the 60-acre Phillippi Estate Park property, has dried up. Now, it's left to private groups and ordinary people to help save and recondition the vintage farmhouse, which Edson and Nettie Keith lived in for two years while they built their elegant mansion in what was then just a big jungle. The property and the buildings tell us a great deal about how people lived in the early part of the 20th century in this part of Florida.

The farmhouse project requires about $180,000, roughly the amount that the State of Florida Special Category matching grant would have supplied. The fund-raising cause has been taken up by the Friends of Sarasota County Parks, a volunteer civic membership organization whose president is Marshall Pridmore. Two public events are being held this month to raise awareness about both the farmhouse and the Keiths' place in Sarasota's history.

"The farmhouse is an early building for Sarasota, and the property, prior to 1986, only had two owners, which is pretty incredible," said Lorrie Muldowney, Sarasota County Historic Preservation Specialist. "It's part of our county's settlement time period in history, which dates from the 1860s up to 1920. Frankly, we've lost a lot of these wood-frame structures to fire, neglect and the wrecking ball. We're lucky to have this one and to know so much about it. Once restored, it's going to be a wonderful teaching tool, and it will be one more historical feature in this park that people can enjoy at no charge."

The purpose of the historic restoration of the white, two-story farmhouse is to create an interpretive center open to the public, featuring photos and memorabilia of early life on the estate. It is hoped that the encounter will encourage residents and visitors to discover more about Sarasota's heritage.

About the Keiths:

Edson and Nettie (Keener) Keith purchased what is now Phillippi Estate Park in 1915. They built the farmhouse and lived in it so they could oversee construction of their lavish, Italian Renaissance-style, riverfront home. Keith was rich, cosmopolitan and part of the famed "Chicago Colony," which included Stanley Field, Bertha Palmer and her son Honore. But unlike their friends, when the Keiths relocated from Chicago to Florida, they did it with a sense of finality. They lived here year-round, enjoying the home together until 1939.

With an engineering degree from Yale and a law degree from Columbia, Keith was a cultured and curious man, temperamentally unsuited to running his father's hugely successful wholesale millinery business in Chicago. But he eventually did take over management of the factory. He also traveled to Paris to study opera. He played the piano, read Greek and German and was fluent in French.

Edson Keith met Nettie Keener in Europe while she was vacationing with her parents; Keith married her in Denver, her hometown, in 1891.The couple lived in Chicago for 24 years while raising a son, Fred, and a daughter, Katherine. They moved to Florida permanently in 1915.

The Keith mansion was designed by Clark and Otis, distinguished Chicago architects. It was the first Italian Renaissance house in the Sarasota area.

The couple's estate was surprisingly self-sufficient, consisting of a citrus grove, vegetable garden and livestock. Nettie had a huge rose garden. Because there was no Tamiami Trail and no paved roads in sight, building supplies were brought by barge. The bathrooms in the four-bedroom mansion had hot and cold running water; not only did the house have electricity, but also the dock was electrified.

When the mansion was complete, the Keiths turned the farmhouse over to some of his staff -- the cook, maid, butler, and various other employees, such as Rock, the gardener, who lived on the property and maintained it. A Keith grandson remembered that Rock was the only one who could make the farm mule do any work, and for that Edson Keith overlooked Rock's drinking problem. A chauffeur took care of the cars and helped Edson Keith with his boat, the Coquina.

The farmhouse's upstairs and downstairs porches were used for sleeping in the summer. The flooring on the porches was gray canvas that covered the wood and protected it against rain. There are shed-roofed porches on three sides of the farmhouse.

Edson Keith died in 1939. Nettie Keith sold their grand home and moved to a small dwelling on Prospect Street in Sarasota, where she lived until her death in 1957. Mae Hanson Prodie, a designer of doll fashions (including wardrobes for Barbie), bought the property, and the mansion later became a restaurant and inn called Phillippi Plantation. The farmhouse was divided into small guest rooms.

Mae Prodie died in 1986, the same year voters approved a referendum that included the purchase of the estate for $5.2 million. Today, Phillippi Estate Park includes the Edson Keith Mansion, the Keith farmhouse, three fishing piers, a kayak/canoe launch, playground, nature trail, gazebo, shoreline paths and open spaces for special events. The mansion is a popular wedding venue; the gazebo hosts concerts.

The park, which is maintained by Sarasota County Parks and Recreation, is open year-round to Sarasota County residents and visitors. The mansion and outbuildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.