On April 14, 2009, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners approved the Historic Preservation Board’s recommendation for a grant of $35,766 to help rehabilitate the Ruby Gill House in Pineland.

This money was added to other grants from the Tourist Development Council, Southwest Florida Community Foundation Arts and Attractions Fund, and donations of many private citizens, finally allowing construction to begin. Lee County previously provided funds for a master plan and detailed construction drawings and specifications, which were completed by Stevenson Architects in 2008. Construction work began in May, 2009, and the project is scheduled to be completed this fall.

The Gill House was damaged by Hurricane Charley in 2004, rendering the house unstable and forcing Randell Research Center staff to work elsewhere. First we rented a construction trailer, then later moved the offices to 4130 Pine Island Road, Matlacha, in office space made available to us at-cost by Mike and Joan Shevlin. When the work is finished, the Gill House will not only resemble more closely its early-twentieth-century origins, it will also be fundamentally more stable, healthier, and safer for our visitors and staff. It will be wheelchair-accessible for the first time.

Who Was Ruby Gill?

black and white photo of two women standing in-front of a building with the sign US Post Office Pineland
Ruby Gill (right) and Evelyn Kelly pose in front of the Pineland post office in 1957 on the day when Ms. Gill retired and Ms. Kelly became postmaster. Photo courtesy Gina Poppell.

Ruby Gill and her husband Percy came to Pineland in 1922 after purchasing several acres of citrus grove. That year they built the house we now call the Ruby Gill House. She became postmaster at Pineland in 1925, and had the current post office built at that time, next door to her house. A temporary structure located immediately south of the Gill home served as a post office while the current one was being built. In the early years, Ruby operated a small general store out of the post office to serve the community’s needs. She was a prominent member of the community. A member of the Lee County Electric Cooperative, she was instrumental in having power extended to Pine Island.

Ruby Gill was postmaster until 1957. She died in 1969 and was buried next to her husband in the Ft. Myers Cemetery. Today the home and postoffice are landmarks to local residents and a scenic part of Pineland Road as it winds through the Indian mounds to the waterfront. In 2001, Lee County bought the house and leased it to the Randell Research Center for use as its headquarters. The RRC occupied the house until Hurricane Charley struck in August, 2004.

This article was taken from the Friends of the Randell Research Center Newsletter Vol 8, No. 2. June 2009.