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Steinmeyer was one of about 14 people from the Bonita Springs Historical Society who attended the home’s historic designation by the city of Bonita Springs on Sept. 3.

The home has been turned into a museum, meeting place and office for society headquarters since it was purchased for $30,000 from Steinmeyer’s family in 1996.

History buffs milled around as they decided on the placement of the little circular sign dating the home’s 1930 birth.

“We want to preserve what history we have left,” said Rhonda Lyles, a preservation board member who comes from the family who built the historic Liles hotel at Riverside Park.

Williams-Packard

Listed with 1920 and 1914 beginnings, the Williams-Packard House began with the Clements family on Dean Street near the historic Bonita Elementary School. The house today overlooks Oak Creek at 27324 Tennessee St.

The original interior woodwork was designed by a craftsman who built cabinets for the White House. The smell of Miami Dade pine covering the ceilings, walls and floors engulfs visitors.

“I walk into this place and it’s like aroma-therapy to me,” Schmidt said. “This was what they did before drywall.”

The homeowner had a hidden panel and a rack behind a door on the first floor to hide guns. A bullet-sized hole in the wall in one spot indicates his guns got use.

“People here weren’t used to unannounced visitors,” Schmidt said.

Nutting House

Listed with 1913 and 1920 birth dates, depending who you ask, the Nutting House was used by the earliest settlers of Bonita regardless. Originally a 1,000-square-foot, tin-roofed cottage, a citrus grove superintendent used what is today a 1,700-square-foot powder-blue home at the corner of Tennessee Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

In 1942, E.P. Nutting bought the house along with 40 acres, where the place became known for its fruit shipping sales.

With his engineering skills, Nutting was instrumental in building Bonita’s infrastructure around Old 41, Schmidt said. Busk bought the place in 2003, when it was in danger of being demolished. It was gutted and fully restored, for sale today with gleaming original cypress wood flooring, new and old ceilings and other high-end touches.