Longwood weighs future of historic Lewis House, visitor center or housing

Longwood commissioners were weighing whether taxpayers should spend about $120,000 to preserve the Lewis House, either by moving it to a park as a visitor center or by turning it over to a developer for restoration and housing.

The Lewis House, built by at least 1885 and shown in an 1885 bird’s-eye drawing of Longwood, is named for J.D. and N.J. Lewis, the brothers who first occupied it. The pair lived upstairs and operated an attorney office on the roughly 600-square-foot first floor, giving the building a place in the city’s early commercial and residential life. It was originally built at 202 Wilma Street, at the corner of Wilma and Warren, where the Longwood Community Building stands today.

The Lewis House has already been moved several times. It was relocated in 2002 when the Community Building was constructed, then moved again in 2015 after a developer planned a new house on the lot and the historic home was at risk of demolition. It now sits behind Christ Church and the Longwood police station, near the terminus of Jessup Avenue, on a temporary site while the city continues to decide its future.

Earlier attempts to place the house in Reiter Park fell apart because of logistics, the park’s small size and maintenance costs. A later idea to make it a welcome center at Clock Tower Park also failed after restoration estimates came in at about $150,000, plus another $50,000 to bring electricity and a bathroom up to code. In October 2025, the Longwood Historic Society provided the city with historical context and rehabilitation recommendations, and commissioners had narrowed the field to two possible locations while geotechnical studies were planned to check for foundation problems and possible muck.

The housing option carried its own preservation logic. The developer under discussion had already restored several other historic properties in Longwood, and city leaders were also working with Lyman High School on possible student or staff involvement in the restoration. That gave the debate a civic and educational dimension, not just a real estate one.

Longwood’s historic district covers roughly 190 acres, includes 37 contributing structures and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in October 1990. Longwood was established in 1878 and is the oldest city in Seminole County. The 1880 railroad connection from Sanford to Orlando accelerated growth.