It took 20 years but three historic homes in Bradenton restored and open as museums

In an era when historic preservation efforts in Manatee County have taken a bit of a hit lately, there is reason to celebrate on the outskirts of Mineral Springs Park with the completed renovations of three historic homes in what is called the “Curry Houses Historic District,” on Fourth Avenue East, between 12th and 14th streets east.

A prominent name in Manatee County’s early history, the Curry family built 22 homes in the area surrounding the springs from the 1860s through the 1920s. Reflections of Manatee, a nonprofit historic preservation organization, has restored two 1860 homes and a 1925 bungalow home. The 1860 homes are in their original locations and belonged to Amanda (Andress) and Samuel George Curry, and Mary Amelia Curry. They have been restored and are now open as museums.

Amelia Curry was a school teacher and Samuel Curry was an enlisted member of both the Army and Navy during the Civil War. The 1925 house that once belonged to Theodosia Curry Lloyd sits directly across the street and is being used as an education and meeting center, as well as a work station for ongoing archeological digs at Mineral Springs. The home contains some rich history of the times, including an original 1925 refrigerator. The items in the 1860 homes are also authentic to the time period.

They say history belongs to the public, but the dedicated few who actively pursue it carry the burden of getting it done and it usually comes with a costly price tag. In the case of the Curry homes, Reflections spent 20 years working on not only unearthing the startling history of Mineral Springs, including the latest revelation of ties to the Underground Railroad and an entire community of escaped slaves in the early 1800s, but the Curry homes as well.

Preserving each fragment of that long history, including the some 70 years the Currys were prominent figures of a growing county, was a passion of a dedicated few. Two decades of trying has turned into achievement.

“It’s been a 20-year process building this whole district but it’s done now and it was all done with volunteer help,” said Trudy Williams, executive director of Reflections of Manatee.

Much of the homes’ interiors had to be gutted and rebuilt, but there were elements that were able to be saved.

“Two years ago, you couldn’t walk into these houses without maybe falling through and the walls were gone and the termites had overtaken them,” Williams said.

And now? They are a walk through Manatee County history on the outskirts of a fresh water spring that helped not only Manatee County grow and flourish but lent aid to the development of Southwest Florida as a whole.

For more information on Reflections of Manatee, visit reflectionsofmanatee.org and for touring information, call 941-746-2033 or email ReflectionsofManatee@msn.com. Museum tours are free, but donations are welcome and $15 membership fees to Reflections are available to help them fund further historic preservation efforts.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 2:45 PM with the headline "It took 20 years but three historic homes in Bradenton restored and open as museums."