621 Retta Esplanade





Harry (Pete) and Reba Gaskill Goulding called this house home for many years.  Harry was widely known as he was comptroller of the Punta Gorda Fish Company.  This structure is typical of the many built between 1887 and 1900 to provide quick and inexpensive shelter for fishermen and their families.  Commonly called "dark to dusk" or "up and down" houses because a team of two carpenters could build one in a single day from sunrise to sunset.  The house is constructed of 1' x 12' planks of hard pine planked vertically instead of horizontally.  The cracks are coved with narrow strips of pine forming a "board and batten" siding.  The inside walls are board and batten also.  This construction was the dominant pre-railroad folk housing throughout most of the Southeastern United States.  It was easy to build and provided a sturdy and inexpensive home for the working man.  After Pete's death a new owner added to the structure.


Tamiami Trail

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