The land was purchased during the 1886 land boom when the St. Andrews Bay RR Land and Mining Company sold this lot for $9. The home was constructed shortly thereafter and housed the J.R. Thompson Store from 1901 to 1915. Over the years the property was owned by several people with familiar St. Andrews names including Gainer, Welch, Harries, and Fletcher Black. It was purchased in 1960 by Bill and Eloise Tant, founders of Southern Skin Divers Supply, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, which had been established in 1953. The Tants bunked hundreds of divers in the house over the years, taking them for some of the earliest dives on local historic wrecks such as the SS Tarpon, the Empire Mica, and others. The foundation for diving in this area was established here in St. Andrews.