ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to relocate the historic beach cottage known as the Canright House.
The historic beach cottage known as the Canright House will be relocated from 5480 Atlantic View to Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park in West Augustine.
The house is where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to stay as part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in May 1964, until it was vandalized by segregationists.
Dr. King was famously photographed outside the home later, pointing to a bullet hole in one of the windows.
The house became a symbol of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but the damage done to it never stopped King from spreading his message of peace and equality here.
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“Moving it to West Augustine is showing us where it belongs. We’re calling that home,”said Robert Nimmons, Chair of the West Augustine CRA Steering Committee.
Nimmons said many untold stories live in St. Augustine, and the Canright House is one of them.
“Why is this story not being told? So, we are trying to find an avenue to bring all of our history back to St. Augustine,” said Nimmons.
Many St. Augustine locals told Action News Jax they agree with this decision to move the historic house.
“For as I know, that sounds like a great idea. It would be wonderful for people to know about it and experience what happened here,” said one local who wished to remain anonymous.
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The new location is 11 miles away from the current location.
The St. Johns County Parks Foundation has set aside $250,000 that will come from Tourist Development Council reserve funds or General Funds reserves.
The couple who owns this property will soon be able to build a new home.
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