ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A house in St. Augustine that was firebombed and shot at during a key time in the civil rights movement is now moving to a new location.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to stay at the Canright House during the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in May 1964.
That is until it was vandalized by segregationists.
King was famously photographed inside the house, pointing to where a bullet came through a glass door into the home.
The house is now on its way to a new location to preserve its history.
Earlier this year, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously to relocate the historic beach cottage from 5480 Atlantic View to Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park on North Holmes Boulevard in St. Augustine.
The house, which became a symbol of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, was purchased by a couple in 2021 and then donated to the county.
Former homeowner David Manaute said they didn’t want to see the home demolished.
“When we bought it, our idea, or main focus was to preserve the house. That’s why we bought the house. So being able to when the option of relocating, it actually became a reality. We decided to give the time to the effort to move the house so we just couldn’t see it go down,” Manaute said.
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The county said the St. Johns County Parks Foundation secured state funds to relocate the historic house and the commissioners chose Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park in West Augustine, which is -- fittingly -- on West King Street as the new home for the building.
Troy Blevins helped the foundation with the process of moving the home.
“The owner wanted to build a house and incorporate the house in it. It wasn’t allowed because of some of the setback rules and they weren’t able to acquire a variance. So then it came down to the house either needed to be donated and relocated. Or we’d have to demo that part of history,” Blevins said.
Because the new location is 20 minutes away from the house’s original location on Atlantic View in Butler Beach, the county is footing the $250,000 bill for the longer distance. The additional funds could come from Tourist Development Council reserve funds or General Funds reserves.
Robert Nimmons of the West Augustine Community Redevelopment Agency said they brought the home where it belongs.
“It’s a culture piece that we will like to see our kids and future African American visitors can see the work he did in the country and around the world,” Nimmons said.
The home is expected to remain in St. Augustine with the hopes of it being part of the Florida African American Museum.
“We would like to see this Canright House be combined with that Florida museum to make a good, decent tourism industry in West Augustine to bring a lot of economic impact,” Nimmons said.