The farmhouse will be taken back to its 1916 appearance and will become an interpretative center, open to the public free of charge, and will feature old photographs, memorabilia, and artifacts from the era when the property was a working farm. This interpretative center will tell the story of the early days of Sarasota and its unique heritage.

Farmhouse as it looked in 1926
 

1946 Aerial view of the property

Edson Keith lived in the farmhouse while he oversaw the construction of his Italian Renaissance mansion. Upon moving into his 14 room mansion, the farmhouse became known as “the servants’ farmhouse” as farm manager, workers and house staff (cook, butler, maids and laundress) lived in the two-story structure.

When Mae Hansen bought the estate in 1942, she used the farmhouse for staff. She later married Charlie Prodie, who converted the building into rental suites for guests who would come out from Sarasota to spend the weekend in the country. Mr. Prodie turned the Edson Keith Mansion into a restaurant and named the complex the Phillippi Plantation Inn and Restaurant.

While the interior of the farmhouse has been changed somewhat over the years, the exterior has remained virtually unchanged. The building is a vivid reminder of Sarasota's origins and the people that helped build the community.

The Friends of Sarasota County Parks and other volunteer civic groups, will be sponsoring community fund-raising events to raise awareness about the farmhouse which is one of the few still existing wood-frame structures from the early 1900s and to help fund the restoration project.

In the month of December 2008, WEDU, Channel 3, Public Television's show A Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins,  featured artist Richard Capes, well known for his line drawings of Sarasota and Manatee counties historic buildings, and whose painting of the farmhouse will help raise funds for the restoration of this piece of historic Sarasota. 

Current view of the farmhouse