A small wood-framed house that has been dragged across Longwood at least three times is once again facing an uncertain future, and this time it is not the city but a local nonprofit stepping in to try to save it. The Lewis House, one of Seminole County's oldest surviving structures, currently sits behind the Longwood Police Department in rough shape, and the Longwood Historic Society says it is now pursuing its own initiative to restore and relocate the building after the city's own effort collapsed.
According to WKMG ClickOrlando, Longwood had budgeted to relocate the house to Reiter Park and issued a formal request for proposals for the project. That effort received just one bid, and the city determined it was substantially over budget, so officials halted the relocation plan altogether. The Historic Society says it stepped in after the city's plans fell through last year, and Longwood has agreed to deed the Lewis House directly to the nonprofit so it can pursue restoration on its own.
Sources also conflict on exactly how old the house is. Historic Longwood says the home was constructed at least by 1885, while WFTV reports it was built in 1886. A separate page from the same historic preservation group states the home was actually built in 1914, constructed by Daniel Clouser for his mother, Sallie Clouser Lewis. The house takes its name from brothers J.D. and N.J. Lewis, identified as its first inhabitants.
A House That Keeps Getting Moved
The Lewis House was originally located at 202 Wilma Street in Longwood, according to Historic Longwood. When the Longwood Community Building was constructed on that lot in 2002, the historic home was relocated to 116 West Bay Avenue. In 2015, a developer wanted to build a new house on that site too, putting the aging structure on the verge of being torn down, and it was moved again, this time to an empty lot at the end of Jessup Avenue behind the police station and Christ Episcopal Church.
By September 2019, the house was resting on blocks behind the Longwood Police Department in poor condition, as described by the Orlando Sentinel. That year, Longwood commissioners agreed to invite private developers to submit proposals to buy the roughly 600-square-foot house and restore it for public use. Two later proposals, floated in 2018, to move the house to either Reiter Park or Clock Tower Park both fell through — the Reiter Park option over logistical issues, its small size, and maintenance costs, while the Clock Tower Park plan carried restoration estimates of about $150,000, plus another $50,000 to bring the structure up to code with electricity and a bathroom.
The Orlando Sentinel's reporting from that period also noted that Longwood commissioners were weighing whether to turn the home into a park visitor's center or hand it over to a local developer who had restored other historic properties in the city and would have rented it out as housing. Both of those options were reported to cost the city $120,000. None of it panned out, and prior plans to move and restore the house were ultimately scrubbed because of the cost, according to WFTV.
City Commission Orders a Fix in 2025
Last September, the Longwood City Commission voted to instruct city staff to expedite plans for a permanent solution — one that would restore the building, make it usable by the public, and keep it within the historic district, per Historic Longwood. The City of Longwood's own project tracker now lists the rehabilitation and relocation of the Lewis House among its infrastructure projects, stating that a firm has been selected to prepare design plans for the house. A related solicitation had sought design-build firms to handle the relocation, restoration and reconstruction of what it called the historic Lewis House, circa 1885, according to bid documents posted on BidNet Direct.
Now the Longwood Historic Society says it plans to execute the restoration and relocation project itself, with the city deeding the house directly to the nonprofit rather than continuing to manage the work in-house. As of this month, the Historic Society and Christ Episcopal Church have agreed to tentative plans to move the building onto church property and restore it there, per Historic Longwood's account, with the group estimating that initial exterior restoration could be completed by 2029.
What the Restored House Would Become
Under the tentative arrangement described by WKMG ClickOrlando, the Historic Society would eventually transfer ownership of the restored Lewis House to Christ Episcopal Church, which would use the building on Church Avenue as a classroom, Bible study space, and small-events venue, and would handle its ongoing maintenance going forward. The church is set to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2029, the same year the Historic Society hopes to have initial exterior work finished.
The Historic Society says restoration would require replacing virtually all of the wood in the structure, and the group has acknowledged that some people view that level of rebuilding as effectively constructing a replica rather than preserving the original. In the meantime, the nonprofit is building a restoration committee and says it will manage community outreach, corporate and educational partnerships, fundraising, and overall project management. Local HVAC contractor AC Cowboys has pledged to donate and install the project's heating and cooling system, according to Jason Byrne.
The Historic Society also plans to explore educational collaborations with regional high schools, technical colleges, and universities, aiming to turn the restoration into hands-on learning opportunities in construction trades, design, and public history. The group describes the project as a kind of living laboratory and says it is seeking additional partnerships while meeting with city staff to finalize logistics. Once those details are settled, the nonprofit plans to bring a formal restoration plan before the Longwood City Commission.
