The 1915 landmark will stay in the Downtown corridor while gaining a setting better suited to preservation, education and public use.
At a glance
The Bonita Springs Planning and Zoning Board approved the historic-preservation certificate for the McSwain Home relocation on August 18, 2026. A physical moving date has not
yet been announced.
Downtown Bonita Springs is changing quickly – and, overall, that is something worth celebrating. Old 41 has become a destination for restaurants, bars, live music and community events. But
protecting the pieces of Bonita that were here long before the nightlife boom sometimes requires more than simply leaving them where they are. That is why the planned relocation of the Historic McSwain Home feels less like removing history from downtown and more like giving it room to survive.
On August 18, the Bonita Springs Planning and Zoning Board approved a special Certificate of Appropriateness allowing the Bonita Springs Historical Society to relocate the designated historic
home from 27451 Old 41 Road to 26961 Pine Avenue. The new property is still within Bonita Springs Downtown corridor, but it offers a more residential setting, additional space and a direct connection to descendants of the McSwain family.
Why move the McSwain Home now?
The McSwain Home has stood on Old 41 for more than a century, but the environment around it is no longer the quiet setting it once was. The City review packet describes the current property as part of the T5 Downtown transect – a high-intensity mixed-use area intended for residential, commercial and institutional activity.
The Historical Society cited changing surroundings, security and stewardship challenges, limited visitor and school-group access, and the loss of much of the home’s historic landscape as reasons for the move. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously. A delicate wood-frame home operating as a museum is a very different use from the restaurants, bars and entertainment venues now drawing larger and later crowds to Old 41.
This is not an argument against downtown’s revival. The nightlife, new businesses and live music have brought energy back to an area that sat underused for decades. It is an argument for balance. A thriving downtown should have both progress and preservation – and the best place for a 1915 pioneer museum may no longer be directly in the middle of its busiest activity.
A new heritage campus on Pine Avenue
The proposed destination is a corner property at 26961 Pine Avenue with frontage along East Terry Street. According to the committee packet, the site sits in the T4 Downtown transect, a medium-high-density residential area. Because it fronts East Terry Street, the Historical Society can continue using the home for meetings, events, offices and other mission-related nonresidential
activities.
The property is owned by descendants of the original McSwain pioneer family and is proposed as a long-term leased preservation site. That family connection gives the move an unusual sense of continuity: the house will leave its longtime Old 41 lot, but return to land held by descendants of the people whose story it tells.
Concept plans presented to the board show the home as the centerpiece of a Bonita Springs Heritage Campus. The early vision includes heritage gardens, native food-forest and pollinator plantings, an event lawn, outdoor learning areas, a chickee pavilion, vehicle and bicycle parking, and improved ADA access. The Pine Avenue property is also approximately 0.2 acres larger than the current site, according to the presentation. Those plans remain conceptual and may evolve as engineering, permitting and fundraising continue.
Can a 111-year-old home be moved safely?
The approval does not mean the house will simply be placed on a truck tomorrow. It allows the Historical Society to move forward with the building and engineering permits required for the
relocation. The preservation plan calls for the home to be documented and structurally braced before it is lifted, transported under controlled conditions and installed on a new engineered foundation. Qualified structural-moving and preservation professionals are expected to monitor the process, with any disturbed historic materials repaired or restored using preservation best practices. The proposed work also includes new porches and ADA-compliant access while protecting the home’s architectural character.
The McSwain Home Place in Bonita history
Joseph and Elizabeth McSwain were among the early settlers of the community then known as Survey. Historical Society programming traces the family’s settlement here to 1901. They built the home in 1915 along what was then Heitman Avenue, a dirt road that later became part of the original Tamiami Trail and is now Old 41 Road.
The house is a rare surviving example of Bonita’s pioneer architecture, built from locally cut and milled wood and retaining historic features such as original floors and windows. It predates the completion of a passable road between Fort Myers and Bonita Springs in 1917 and the Tamiami Trail’s completion through the area in 1928.
In late 2011, the family of Hudon and Ann Humphries gifted the property to the Bonita Springs Historical Society. The house was in poor condition, but the Society chose preservation over a sale, secured local historic designation and began a years-long stabilization and restoration effort. The work included a new foundation and modern utilities, and later required repairs following Hurricane Irma. The restored property ultimately became the Society’s headquarters, a museum, an event venue and an educational gathering place.
McSwain Home timeline
1901 – The McSwain pioneer family settles in the community then known as Survey.
1915 – Joseph and Elizabeth McSwain build the wood-frame family home on Heitman Avenue, now Old 41 Road.
Late 2011 – The Humphries family gifts the property to the Bonita Springs Historical Society. The home receives local historic designation under Resolution 11-01 and preservation work begins.
2014-2019 – The Society's multi-year restoration stabilizes and rehabilitates the home; Hurricane Irma adds repairs before the restored site becomes fully operational as a museum and gathering place.
August 3, 2026 – The Historical Society files its special Certificate of Appropriateness application for relocation.
August 18, 2026 – The Planning & Zoning Board approves the certificate authorizing relocation to 26961 Pine Avenue.
Next – Building and engineering permits, site preparation, fundraising, professional relocation, a new foundation and restoration at Pine Avenue. No moving date has been publicly announced.
Why this is a move worth supporting?
It is understandable that some residents may feel emotional about seeing the McSwain Home leave the Old 41 lot where it has stood since 1915. Location is part of a historic property's story. But preservation is ultimately about more than keeping a building on the same patch of ground – it is about keeping the building intact, useful and accessible for the next generation. The Pine Avenue plan keeps the home in Bonita Springs, keeps it within the Downtown corridor, reconnects it with McSwain family land and gives the museum space to grow. Just as importantly, it creates some breathing room between a fragile historic resource and a nightlife district that will only become busier as downtown continues to develop. Bonita should not have to choose between an exciting downtown and its Old Florida identity. Thoughtfully relocating the McSwain Home is a practical way to protect both.
What happens next?
The Historical Society must still complete the engineering, permitting, funding and site-work phases before the physical move can occur. Its FAQ says proceeds from the sale of the current land will contribute to moving and re-establishing the home, while memberships, sponsorships, grants, donations and fundraising will support the broader preservation effort. The project is owned and led by the nonprofit Historical Society and is not funded by the City of Bonita Springs. For official relocation updates or to support the project, visit BonitaSpringsHistory.org.
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