On August 14, I pushed water out of Ruby Gill’s front door with a heavy heart, tempered with feelings of relief that the house was still standing.
The house that now serves as RRC headquarters sits next door to the picturesque little Pineland post office. Although the Pineland community treasures its post office, many are unaware that it and the RRC house next door are closely associated.
Predating the Wilson home (today’s Tarpon Lodge), the Gill House (1922, remodeled 1982) and post office (1925) are two of Pineland’s oldest buildings. They have survived hurricanes of 1925, 1926, 1933, 1941, 1944, 1947 (George), 1960 (Donna), and now Charley in 2004 (see Friends Newsletter vol. 3, no. 3). Both the house and the post office lost portions of their metal roofs to Charley. Current postmaster Gina Poppell worked over the weekend cleaning up debris even though her own home was badly damaged. She opened on Monday, amidst the pounding of Bill Marquardt’s hammer as he patched the damaged roof. Pineland’s was the only post office open for business on Pine Island.
The RRC’s house is named for Ruby Gill, who in 1922 at age 35 came to Pineland with her husband Percy. They bought several acres of orange groves and built the two-story house. In 1924, Ruby succeeded James Wheeler as postmaster, but soon afterwards a violent storm swept away the tiny post office, then located on the waterfront. Ruby built the current office next to her home, where it would be more protected. Early on, she also operated a small store there as well. She served on the county electric board and was instrumental in bringing electricity to Pineland in 1941. She was postmaster until 1957.
Today the post office is a vibrant symbol of Pineland’s community identity. At least twice in the past, the U. S. Postal Service (USPS) has wanted to close the office, but residents convinced the government to keep it open (John L. Lewis, possibly Pineland’s most famous resident, led one effort in the 1950s).
Few realize that the post office and the Gill House are one property and that the USPS rents the post office building. Ruby Gill (and Percy, who preceded her in death) was the owner until she died in 1969. Since then, each new owner has continued to rent the post office to the government. The current owner is Lee County. The property (8+ acres, the Gill House, and the post office) was bought for $400,000, with Lee County paying the appraised value of $389,000 and the Stans Foundation making up the $11,000 difference. The purchase could not have happened without the commitment of the RRC to manage the property. Recently the Florida Museum advanced funds to install new roofs on both buildings, but interior repairs still remain to be completed for both structures.
The RRC plans to continue using the Gill House as its headquarters, and to continue leasing the post office to the USPS. Both structures will remain permanent historical features of the Pineland community, accessible to the public through the daily operations of the RRC and the post office. Ruby would not have had it any other way.
This article was taken from the Friends of the Randell Research Center Newsletter Vol 3, No. 4. December 2004.