Locals often stayed in this cottage while caring for the Snyder property, and the Snyder family themselves served as caretakers in a broader sense by guarding the Timucuan story for 77 years. Their commitment to preservation saved the information found in the mound, which otherwise would have been mined for shell to build railroad beds and highways. As Marion Snyder Porta recalled, when road and railroad builders wanted to buy the shell, her grandfather refused because he believed it would spoil the beauty of the property, and that decision preserved its elevation.