When the Valentine House was threatened by development, the Preston family of Manatee County donated it and a second structure to Manatee County for public use. Named for its historic family owners, the house was moved from its original site in northwest Palmetto to Robinson Preserve in an effort that became far more than simply saving an old building. Beginning in 2009, movers lifted the house onto wheeled trailers, drove it onto a barge, floated it west through Tampa Bay and across the mouth of the Manatee River to the preserve’s northern shore, and then drove it along the Osprey Loop and Spoonbill Trails to its final location. After traveling nearly 8 miles by land and sea and undergoing a year of restoration work, it opened in 2010 as the preserve’s Visitors Center, where visitors can experience the area’s farming past, learn more about the preserve, and explore its natural habitats.