Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Side One: Charles B. Anderson was born in Illinois on February 16, 1864. Around 1918, the Anderson family purchased a citrus grove in the small community of Lake Hamilton. Anderson immediately immersed himself in the citrus industry. In 1919, Anderson co-founded the Lake Hamilton Growers Association and, within five years, they were packing over 130,000 boxes of citrus per season. In 1920, he helped establish the First National Bank of Lake Hamilton and served as its first president. In 1921, he served as Director of the Massachusetts and Florida Realty Company, which was organized to promote any development that would benefit South Central Florida. As a result of these efforts, Lake Hamilton was formally chartered in 1925. In 1937, Anderson purchased the 70-acre St. Austelle Grove from the estate of Major John Gribbel and renamed it Elkhorn Groves. The property included the Baker House, which the Andersons occupied for a brief time. In 1938, Anderson commissioned Tampa architect Garry Boyle to design a new, modern home to be built in the same location. Anderson’s son-in-law, Swedish immigrant Godfrey “Guy” Kuenzi, built the home with innovative features that were uncommon in Great Depression-era Florida homes. Side Two: Features included a basement, laundry chute, continuous electrical outlets, telephone room, elaborate mahogany paneling, electric garage door opener, trash chute to an incinerator, walk-in shower and closets, solar-powered water heater, and other amenities. Outside, an elaborate five-foot-long doghouse stood with its own foyer and concrete walk. Anderson died in his home in 1943 at 79, and was survived by his wife Mary, two daughters Ruth Wetmore and Margaret Kuenzi, two sons Donald Anderson and Charles Anderson, Jr., ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The family continued to live in the home, but by the 1970s, it began to fall into disrepair. Pasco County purchased the property for $112,000 in 1981 with hopes of converting both buildings for public use. The Anderson house was repurposed as the Pasco Fine Arts Center and the Baker House was renovated in the early 1990s by a group of volunteers led by Samuel Baker’s grandson, Gordon, and Charles Anderson’s granddaughter, Mary Vinson. By 1996, both were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Anderson House was demolished in 2022 following years of vacancy, but the location has been repurposed and dedicated as the Anderson Family Park.