The Sandlin House

Referred to by the name of the man who built it, the Sandlin house is one of Punta Gorda’s most treasured historic houses located in the downtown historic district.  

The Sandlin House was built  in 1893 by early merchant, shipper and developer, and town mayor James Sandlin.  With it’s gingerbread trim and wrap-around porch, the stately house is a stunning example of an old grand Floridian house.  Situated on Retta Esplanade, the house was built near the frontage of the harbor before land had been filled to extend the depth of the parks lining the bay.  The widow’s walk at the top of the home gave Mr. Sandlin a vantage point from which he could observe vessels bringing his merchandise to a nearby dock.

Sandlin came to the area before Isaac Trabue platted the town that became Punta Gorda. He originally lived on Alligator Creek.  He and his wife, Mary Lula Seward,  had six children.  Their first, who died in infancy, was the first child born in the new city of Punta Gorda.  Another boy, their second child, Felix, died at twelve.  

In 1909, Sandlin’s daughter, 14-year-old Mary, died in a fire at the house while pressing clothes using a gasoline-powered flat iron. The gasoline spilled onto Mary, catching fire.  According to local legend,  Mary’s ghost continues to haunt the house.  

James Sandlin died in 1903.  

The House that Abe Built

It was 1887 and Epfraem Goldstein had moved to the new town of Trabue to start a new life for his family.  He had a store built at the corner of Marion and Cross. Soon though he wanted his family to join him.   So, he hired carpenters to quickly build a house, the first one built in the actual town.    Two hundred men built it in one day. 

Labelled the Pioneer House, the building served both as a restaurant, boarding house and home to Abe, his wife, Friederike, and son, Harry.   A story told says as Abe and Issac Trabue got on in years the animosity between the town's founder and Abe grew.  To the point that Abe would curse Trabue every time he passed the house.   One day, Trabue tiring of this, the legend goes, threatened that he would kill Abe if he cursed him again.  Abe ran in the house, fearing Trabue's threats, Trabue fearing Abe was going for a gun ran in the other direction.  From then on, Abe never cursed the founder again.

The house fell into disrepair and was condemned after standing 81 years.  The house built in one day, was torn down in three.

The Hibiscus King's Historic Fisherman's Cottage Built in a Day has stood on Retta Esplanade over 115 Years

The original fisherman's cottage built in 1900 at 621 Retta Esplanade has been remodeled and expanded over the years.   "The Goulding Cottage," which was for many years the home of Harry "Pete" Goulding,  Punta Gorda's  Hibiscus King,  who created over 60 varieties of our town's favorite bloom, is a prime  example of one of the many “fishermen’s cottages” that once overlooked the harbor.  They have been referred to as  “dark to dark” houses because two men could  build one in one day's light-time hours.

Remarkably the cottage withstood hurricanes and time, and remains on Retta among the stately Victorians that now grace the Esplanade.