User:Whatsmamawriting/sandbox

What is mama writing? Today she is super excited that a historic preservation project she has been championing has received validation by being selected as one of the 2018 11 to Save by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. The Florida Trust began this program in 2005 and this year saw a record breaking number of entries. From those 27 entries—places from all over the state in need of preservation—The Patten House in Manatee County was selected as one of the most threatened historic resources in the state.

This designation will bring much-needed publicity to the Patten House, which has a rich history. The home was built in 1895 in front of Gamble Mansion on the Robert H. Gamble Plantation overlooking the Manatee River. Gamble settled this spot in 1845, as participant in the Armed Occupation Act of 1842. Having left his once thriving sugar plantation after a dramatic price drop in 1858, the Gamble Plantation went on to serve the Confederacy during the War Between the States. Just after the war, in May of 1865, Confederdate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin was hidden at Gamble Mansion while plans were drawn up to smuggle him out of the country, as he was wanted for treason.

In letters dating from 1869, the Gamble Plantation was being discussed between its builder Major Robert Gamble, who was then living in Tallahassee, and Major George Patten of Savannah who wished to purchase the property. In 1873, the purchase was finalized. Patten paid an estimated $3000 in back taxes for the 3500-acre Gamble Plantation and its stately mansion.

George Patten had been a cotton broker in Savannah and lost his livelihood after Sherman’s infamous March to The Sea.

There’s more to write... but that shall come later.