Coquina cottage in Davis Shores moves to new home

DAVIS SHORES, Fla. – An old cottage at 91 Coquina Ave. in Davis Shores moved to its new home at the Florida Agricultural Museum on Tuesday.

Crews moved the cottage around 9 a.m. Sky4 flew over the route as the cottage made its way from South Davis Shores to Flagler County. 

The relocation was delayed about a month because of Hurricane Dorian.

The one-story wood-frame house made its way through the streets with a police escort, delicately turning corners and avoiding obstacles as it traveled very slowly, about 44 miles, avoiding heavy traffic and low-hanging wires.

The city purchased the property where the home sat earlier this year to make improvements to the neighborhood and awarded the house to the museum, where it will eventually be a display area for turpentine and timber industry artifacts. It will be roughly one year before it is open to the public. 

The 960-square-foot cottage dates back to the 1940s when a St. Johns County family who operated a turpentine and timber farm built the house.  

For some residents in South Davis Shores it was bittersweet watching crews tow the decades-old cottage out of their neighborhood. 

“There’s some mixed feelings," resident Jason Holloway said. "It's sad to see it go, but at the same time, it’s leading the way for cool new green  space that our neighborhood gets to enjoy now.”

The city of St. Augustine will now use the land where the house once sat to create a park that will include benches and tables and space for activities. The city will also make flooding improvements, including raising the headwall and installing a smart valve.

Last month, the city built a temporary berm to prevent flooding during the full moon and nor’easter.

“We would love to have a park, and we’re most excited because they’re going to put the wall up there," resident Niki Baker said.

The city said it plans to have a majority of the work finished by Christmas.