The Bradford – Ma Barker house was moved across Lake Weir on a huge barge from its original location in Ocklawaha to the Carney Island Recreation & Conservation Area in October 2016. Deciding to preserve the house was an easy decision – it was determining how to move the house that presented a challenge. Due to the size of the structure, moving it on the local roadways would have had major impacts on the trees which canopy a few of the roads, which would have affected the Ocklawaha community for many years. County officials had learned about other historic houses in Florida being floated on barges from one side of the lake to another and decided to use that same method for the Bradford – Ma Barker House.

The home, famous for the notorious Ma Barker gang who were killed by federal agents in 1935, after being in the Bradford family for nearly 100 years was sold. The property was sold for development and the old house, looking much as it did back in 1935, was not a part of the sale. The Bradford’s donated the home and its furnishings to Marion County.

The home was moved on a barge across Lake Weir to a permanent site on Carney Island with the intent of opening it as a museum in the Fall of 2018.

According to the Marion County Parks & Recreation department, “During the relocation of the house the front porch was removed and, through research, we found that this was not the original porch. The county has obtained the services of a contractor to provide a design to match the porch that was present the day of the famous shootout. A construction firm has also been contracted to reconstruct the porch, replace the air conditioning and get the building ready for public access. Once that work is complete, Parks & Recreation staff will fill the role of docents to provide guided tours. Parking on the site and handicap-accessible paths are in future stages of the site plan.”

Why save the Bradford – Ma Barker house?

George Albright, III is one of the champions of saving this historical home. His passion comes from a family connection dating back to his great grandfather. George Albright, Sr. was a 28 year old citrus farmer from Weirsdale, Florida who witnessed the shootout. The story of his experience has been told to each generation since. George grew up hearing his grandfather’s tale of torn pants, machine guns, gangsters, G-men and a fortune hidden under mattresses. He grew up near this two-story white bullet ridden house with green trim and the history along with it. It began a lifelong passion to save it.

After almost a decade of trying to see this house in public hands, George III succeeded in September, 2016. The house was moved from its original location to Carney Island by barge and in 2018 will be opened to the public as a museum.

Jim Couillard, Parks & Recreation Director, laid out a vision to re-create the entire scene down, from identifying where FBI agents took cover down to the replacing the old citrus grove and chicken coops. There were two additional buildings on original property; an old garage and a cottage. Plans include rebuilding these old structures so they appear as they would in the early 1900s with the interior of the old garage built to serve as a public bathroom and the cottage will be built to serve as an accessible interpretive center, complete with exhibits, photo galleries and artifacts from the original site.

Another important reason to not only save and preserve this home, but to open it to the public is to share an important part of our American history and to celebrate the FBI, for whom this was a tremendous victory. It was the beginning of the end of gangsters terrorizing rampages in that era.

Today, few people inside the FBI know the house still exists. There are several agents, retired in The Villages, Florida, who took part in the shootout. Several of the first FBI agents took part in the shootout at the Bradford  Ma Barker house. Many of the weapons confiscated by the Agency that day from the Barkers are still in the hands of the FBI in their Washington D.C. offices!

Ninety percent of the original furniture is in the house all well preserved and the story is fascinating, one that should be remembered.