Ma Barker House in Florida

[1937hd45]

Just watched Strange Inherence, with a feature on the Ma Barker gangster shootout house in Florida, was that a well known AACA Forum member helping with the save? That is always a good show, this one was very interesting. Bob 

[John348]

19 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

 was that a well known AACA Forum member helping with the save? 

 

Yes it is

[capngrog]

The so-called Ma Barker house in Ocklawaha, Florida isn't far from my home in Paisley.  I don't know much about the Barker clan other than they were a bunch of violent, murderous dirtbags.

 

Cheers,

Grog

[John348]

From what read i thought the house was in Marion County, near Lake Weir

[capngrog]

7 hours ago, John348 said:

From what read i thought the house was in Marion County, near Lake Weir

 

That's correct.  Ocklawaha, Florida, is located on the north shore of beautiful Lake Weir, which " ... isn't far from my home in Paisley."   I'm surprised you haven't been there, since it's not far from Ocala, Florida.  A local watering hole and a biker favorite, is Ma Barker's located on the eastern outskirts of the urban center of downtown Ocklawaha.   Then there's Gator Joe's, a pretty good eatery located literally on beautiful Lake Weir, right in downtown Ocklawaha ... great over-the-water/beach dining with great lake views.

 

Cheers,

Grog

Edited May 29, 2018 by capngrog
geographical accuracy (see edit history)

[Fleek]

Yes very beautiful and interesting area around Lake Weir and Marion county in general. Nice place to live and well worth a visit for anyone. 

[George Albright]

Yes I was in the TV show. I saved the house. My grandfather saw the gun battle on January 16 1935. As a teenage our lake house was right next door in the 1960s and I was the property caretaker for the owners. I have been the elected Marion County Tax Collector for13 years. Cheers George Albright,Ocala. Gnalbright@gmail.com

[John348]

2 hours ago, capngrog said:

 

That's correct.  Ocklawaha, Florida, is located on the north shore of beautiful Lake Weir, which " ... isn't far from my home in Paisley."   I'm surprised you haven't been there, since it's not far from Ocala, Florida.  A local watering hole and a biker favorite, is Ma Barker's located on the eastern outskirts of the urban center of downtown Ocklawaha.   Then there's Gator Joe's, a pretty good eatery located literally on beautiful Lake Weir, right in downtown Ocklawaha ... great over-the-water/beach dining with great lake views.

 

Cheers,

Grog

 

I always seem to loose my sense of distance in the Sunshine State, I guess I will always be a Bronx guy,,,, "everything is around the block and down the corner" for me. I thought you were further south,  near Lakeland or Orlando. When I am down in Ocala I head down to Lakeland several times to visit with a good friend and fellow AACA Member. My apologies.

George runs a great car show every year for local charities in the spring, it is worth the trip! It was for me this year I won the 50/50!   

[padgett]

It is easy to get lost in Florida, we originated the phrase "you can't get there from here". When I was growing up there was the east coast and the west coast and not much but two lane shell roads in the middle. Am old enough to remember "reasonable and proper" speed limits.

[George Albright]

Thanks for the nice words! Here are two 3 minute video links to the saving of the Ma Barker gangster house. Was the longest gun battle in FBI history. Enjoy! George Albright  : 

Video Link – Produced by family: http://www.mariontax.com/uploads/ckfinder/files/MaBarker.mp4

Video Link – Fox News Tampa:  https://vimeo.com/139873352              

 

[capngrog]

3 hours ago, John348 said:

 

I always seem to loose my sense of distance in the Sunshine State, I guess I will always be a Bronx guy,,,, "everything is around the block and down the corner" for me. I thought you were further south,  near Lakeland or Orlando. When I am down in Ocala I head down to Lakeland several times to visit with a good friend and fellow AACA Member. My apologies.

George runs a great car show every year for local charities in the spring, it is worth the trip! It was for me this year I won the 50/50!   

 

John,

 

No apologies needed here.  I think I understand the different perspectives between 'city' distance and 'country' distance.  I'm about 25-30 miles ESE of Ocklawaha here in Paisley, and a jaunt over to Gator Joes in Ocklawaha is just a matter of 30-40 minutes.  When I lived in Miami, a trip of 25-30 miles would take anywhere from 1-2 hours (or more), based on traffic conditions and the time of day.  Most of the personal business I did in Miami was within about a 5 mile radius of my home.  I still manage to occasionally get lost in the downtown Ocala area, but, of course, that's the Big City.  I try to avoid Orlando (apologies to Padgett) and the Villages at all costs.

 

Where can I find information on George's car show?  I think one of my 'classic' cars would be able to make it as far as the Ocala area (maybe even back to Paisley).

 

Cheers,

Grog

 

 

[Fleek]

Grog. Georges show was in Feb. It is always a great event. Check this link https://www.facebook.com/Marion-County-Florida-Tax-Collector-165535103474970/ and look under EVENTS on the left side for info on the last event. I am sure he will post here when the next one is scheduled. 

[Guest]

Interesting video George. Is the house currently in private hands? It appears to be a time capsule, like no one has actually lived in it?

[George Albright]

The house in October of 2016 was put on a barge and floated 3 miles across Lake Weir to a 600 acre County park,where it now resides all with its original furniture. We will be replicating the original site with trees,etc. as we have the 1935 FBI map of the property layout. Will be open for tours in later 2018. Google Marion County Parks Dept. for info. Thanks,George

[plymouthcranbrook]

16 hours ago, capngrog said:

The so-called Ma Barker house in Ocklawaha, Florida isn't far from my home in Paisley.  I don't know much about the Barker clan other than they were a bunch of violent, murderous dirtbags.

 

Cheers,

Grog

And those were their good qualities 

[Guest]

So, the original location was redeveloped then?

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, plymouthcranbrook said:

And those were their good qualities 

Legend has it, she regularly  took her boys to church on Sunday!!

 

Craig

[ejboyd5]

Mention of Ma Barker brings back a very vivid memory from the late '50s - early '60s when I was in Florida with my father who was a retired FBI agent.  He took great trouble to drive me to the house and explain in detail what had happened on the day.

[Durant Mike]

I saw the very same show and although I was happy they saved the house and a piece of history, I was not happy with them moving the house across the lake. Seems the family  that owned it sold out to developers instead of keeping the historic house at it's original historic location. I guess money talks1

[George Albright]

Yes the land was sold under it for development. Land was sold for $800K. We did the best we could,but couldn't raise the money to buy the whole piece. Got the house donated instead.Yes they went to chuch there,and hunted with the locals. Amazing story! Go to the Strange inheritance website on Fox Business Channel TV to see a clip on the show just aired.

[1937hd45]

Saving the house and the contents is a big win in my opinion, lots of old colonial homes have been moved and saved up here and their history lives on. Bob 

[Graham Man]

I did a lot of research around 2009 after the FBI records were finally released after 50 years.  Ma Baker was mostly FBI myth, the boys were not, they were cold blooded killers.  Karpis wasn't any better.  I was in Florida in 2010 and tried to get close enough to see the house without any luck.  It is a great piece of American History, hats off for a great save!  Up in Minnesota we have lots of Barker-Karpis history including the $100,000 of ransom money buried next to a fence post along highway 52 just South of Rochester.  The Fred Baker and Ma met their end in the house before they shared the story of where the money is buried, most likely dirt by now.  The house is back on my places to visit.  Thanks again for helping to save it.

 

[Paul Dobbin]

'There is also a "Al Capone house" in St. Petersburg FL.  Located on Bayou Grande Blvd. in the Shore Acres neighborhood.  The story was that Capone rented it during baseball's spring training seasons.

It was for sale in 1973 and my wife an I considered buying it, but  passed because I was in the middle of restoring my first 34 Ford and didn't want another project.  That was a decision I often regretted because it sat on 3 lots with plenty of room for garages.