Heart Home
Did you ever have a home you missed?
Everyone has a heart home — the one that lingers in memory long after the keys have changed hands. Maybe it was your first home when you were starting out or the house where you grew up.
I’ve lived in many homes throughout my life, but the one that captured my heart wasn’t mine at all. I’ve never lived in it but now it’s become one of the most important homes of my real estate career. It is a vintage cottage on Old 41 Road in downtown Bonita Springs — the McSwain Home, built in 1915. Back then, Old 41 was the original Tamiami Trail, the main road connecting communities from Tampa to Miami. For those who don’t know, “Tamiami” = Ta (Tampa) to Miami. History is cool. When the Trail was later rerouted to bypass downtown, the heart of Bonita Springs was bypassed too. For years, the area quieted down. Many bleak economic decades followed. People had little reason to visit and downtown nearly faded from memory. In fact, it was generally avoided.
Today, downtown Bonita Springs has been revitalized with new infrastructure, restaurants, festivals and events in the park. The real threat right now is the preservation of culture and history. To balance our new modern downtown we need culture, history and diversity. A thriving downtown needs more than dining tables, cocktails and concert stages. We need living reminders of our story. We’ve preserved the great banyan tree, the Liles Hotel and Wonder Gardens and now it’s time to help preserve the McSwain Home and Gardens. This green property is another crown jewel, a historic anchor and one of the most important attractions downtown.
The original family raised several children in this tiny home. Picture Bonita Springs in 1915: no air conditioning, no modern conveniences, no hurricane-proof windows. Mosquitoes, dust, torrential summer rains and the wildness of Florida were part of daily life. Were the families who lived there brave or crazy? Maybe both. The resilience of the McSwain’s and the other pioneer families is why Bonita Springs exists today. They were legends for being pioneers in this harsh environment and didn’t even know it.
For years I overlooked the little home, caught up in my own life, raising a family and working in real estate. That changed when I joined the Bonita Springs Historical Society board. Around the same time that I was nominated for the board, I faced stage 5 kidney failure. It was such an odd time in my life. There are no handbooks on what to do in these sorts of situations, so I just started digging myself out of the hole. By grace, I received a transplant from an altruistic living donor. For a spell I attended board meetings by Zoom while I was temporarily in Tampa for medical care. When I returned to Bonita Springs, I found myself recuperating in the gardens at the McSwain Home, planting seedlings, pulling weeds and watering orchids as part of my healing journey. Much of what you see in the gardens was started from seeds and cuttings. My grandchildren toddled beside me with little watering cans, splashing more on themselves than the flowers but learning that even the smallest hands could help something grow. We’d order sandwiches from Downtown Coffee and Wine and it felt like our second home by proxy — a place where community, history and family all converged.
The main landscaping had been designed and installed by Jacque James, our current president. She and her parents have worked tirelessly in the soil, too. Volunteers and friends pitch in when available. Moto, a longtime friend, helped with the heavy lifting when I couldn’t. He learned that when "we" were going to do something it meant that I was pointing and he was doing it. I went through a subsequent surgery six months later to remove my native kidneys so I started my therapy again in the gardens. Leonorrre, a neighbor, selflessly stops by to water our wilted plants on her way home from school. (I have her name spelled that way in my contacts because she trills her R’s in the most brilliant way). Orchids have been donated in memory of loved ones, grafted into the trees so that the memory of their beauty lives on.
The grounds have now come into their own. We’ve grown into a food forest where visitors can wander under shade trees and in season pick a tree-ripe banana. Moringa seedlings, known worldwide as a “miracle tree,” are nurtured here as part of our garden and sometimes available for sale to support the property. Every plant in this landscape is a reminder that history isn’t just preserved in photos or books. History is alive, growing and rooted in this God-forsaken sandy soil. It’s a testament and proves that every home in Bonita Springs has the ability to produce life, edible food and a butterfly garden.
Here’s the dilemma as I see it. We, collectively the McSwain Home, has really been at a deficit for corporate sponsors and resident donors. There are passionate people who would likely help if they only understood the need. Here’s the truth most people don’t realize: The McSwain Home and the Bonita Springs Historical Society who care for her, is not funded by the City of Bonita Springs. Every orchid, every garden, every exhibit exists only because people like you support this home and property. The Bonita Springs Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization and donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. We need community support to keep history alive and protected. We need your support.
Recently, Vicki Qi of Posh Porch raised her hand to support us, she is donating a spectacular pumpkin display that will be installed on the McSwain Home steps for Halloween. She simply couldn't stand to have the McSwain porch not be shown the love it deserves this fall. It’s more than a seasonal decoration. It’s a shining example of how businesses can join hands with history to create something beautiful for the community. This will make Halloween extra special downtown and for the Halloween Walk and Trick or Treat night. We need more of those partnerships: local restaurants, real estate offices, banks, civic groups and any business that wants to be known for helping keep Bonita’s history alive.
So, this is something to noodle on: As we head into the end of the year, please consider including the McSwain Home and the Bonita Springs Historical Society in your year-end giving. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and your contributions are tax-deductible and they directly preserve one of the oldest historic homes and green spaces in downtown Bonita Springs. If you’ve not planned giving for next year is it possible next year? Maybe even annually?
Another way to help is through estate planning. Some of our strongest legacies will be built by people who decide that part of their story should live on through the preservation of this home. A bequest, trust or planned gift ensures that the McSwain Home continues to tell Bonita’s story long after we are gone.
Without volunteers, donations and memberships, this 115-year-old home cannot survive. We need sponsors for exhibits – such as the 9/11 exhibit which is available for on-site set up at any local business for the 25th remembrance in 2026. We need families to join the membership, we need people to attend events and lend a hand with their talent whether it is event planning or grant applications. Most importantly, we need local businesses to step up as partners. We are small but mighty and have persevered on a shoestring budget. We are great stewards of this organization and I promise you this: This board can turn a penny into copper wire. Imagine what can be accomplished with corporate support. The McSwain Home is right here in the community you run your businesses in, please show her some love.
This home is wildly important and I want people to know about it and care about it. I’ve sold hundreds of homes in my career, but this is the one I fought the hardest to save. Who better than a Realtor to understand the value of a home — not in dollars, but in legacy.
Volunteers with even a small contribution of time are always appreciated. Many hands make for easy lifting, from checking names at an event, to stringing popcorn for Christmas trees, to writing a check that keeps the water on so the gardens stay beautiful in dry winters. We’d love a new well, but that expense isn’t in the budget. The trip charge for the simple estimate isn’t even a good stewardship of funds at this point. Anyone know a generous well driller willing to collaborate?
The McSwain Home has carried Bonita Springs for 115 years. Now it’s our turn to carry her. She doesn’t need a few people doing everything. She needs many people doing a little something. One day, a hundred years from now, children will walk through the door of the McSwain Home and ask what kept it standing all of this time. Let the answer be us. Let the answer be that this generation valued history enough to protect it. Let them know we were the ones who said Bonita Springs deserves roots as well as growth.
You may not know this but on Saturdays Byron and Linda Liles — pioneer family stock themselves — are docents giving free tours at the McSwain Home. The doors are open. Visitors are invited, free of charge, to tour the property and not only have one of the best first-hand history lessons from Mr. Liles himself but also hear a great story or two about “cowboy land” and what it was like to grow up in the fields and scrub that is now bustling downtown Bonita Springs. You can even pick up a copy of his book or a souvenir to remember your visit. Maybe your best souvenir could be a membership to keep or even one to give away this Christmas. They are inexpensive and one size fits all.
The board of directors, the Liles family and many volunteers continue their good works to tend to this delightful, historical estate but it would be a such a blessing to have help from the public and local businesses. As Realtors, bankers, shop owners and restaurateurs, we all rely on Bonita Springs’ story to bring people here. Preserving this home is preserving what makes Bonita Springs special.
This home and its history is for all of us. Maybe, if you spend time here, it will become your heart home too.
To become immediately involved reach out to Chris Griffith directly 239-273-7430 or email our executive director Rae Goldstein raegoldstein@bonitaspringshistoricalsociety.org for strategic partnerships, grants, volunteer and donor/donor matching programs. The Bonita Springs Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Learn more at www.BonitaSpringsHistory.org