Restoring Flagler County’s heritage: to last another century

After seven long months, the bathhouses and horse stable, at Princess Place Preserve, have been fully renovated and restored back to its original appearance.

By Anastasia Pagello
| 3:30 p.m. December 21, 2015

The stables at Princess Place Preserve, built in 1890, received a much needed renovation. Photos by Anastasia Pagello

Kathy Wilcox, Heather Edwards and Jean Santiago, of the Flagler Count Chamber of Commerce, outside of the newly renovated bathhouses.

County Commissioner George Hanns cut the ribbon at the Princess Preserve stables with Chairman Barbara Revels.

Flagler County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin and Carl Laundrie singing Christmas carols.

The Island House, originally built to house Lewis Wadsworth, will undergo renovations in 2016.

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“Renovating these buildings, and therefore preserving Flagler County’s heritage is extremely important, because it allows the upcoming generations the privilege to see our county’s history,” Charlie Owen, project manager, of DiMare Construction

The stable and bathhouses on the property of Princess Place Preserve have long outlived their original grandeur, until now. The county received a grant from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation to renovate this important chapter of Flagler County’s history.

The grant and funds raised through the county’s half-cent sales tax covered the $500,000 worth of renovations.

In as little as seven months the horse stable, built in 1890, was gutted, reinforced for structural soundness and renovated to mirror its original appearance.

The stable, built on Princess Place Preserve in 1890, before it was recently renovated from the ground up. Courtesy Photo

“We restructured the building from an old black and white photo, while trying to save as much of the original building material as possible” said Kenneth Smith, architect at DiMare Construction. “It was apparent in the photo that the back end of the structure had, at one time, an open porch. We were able to locate the foundation and base the building of the new porch off of that.”

The names of the horses are still on display in each stall. DIMari Construction found old horse bits, horseshoes and a coke bottle from 1920 under the floorboards of the stable during the renovations. Courtesy Photo

The photograph held other important clues such as the coloring for the original building.

“The stable seemed to be the same shade of color as the lodge,” said Flagler County General Service Manager Heidi Petito, while gesturing to a neighboring structure. “The lodge is made out of coquina rock, so it gave us an inkling that the stable and bathhouses might have also been a light brown in color.”

A ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, Dec 21, signified the reopening of the stable for public viewing.

“All the time and effort to renovate these buildings go to show that our county cares about preserving our history for future generations,” said Heather Edwards, of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce.