Brandon’s first annual Labor Day Legacy Family Picnic is in the works by the trustees of the Timberley Trust to benefit the Julia Moseley Homestead, built in 1886.
Indoor and outdoor activities include a pulled-pork barbecue dinner and ‘Fresh from Florida’ strawberry shortcakes, provided by the Florida Strawberry Growers Association in Dover.
The event is scheduled to run from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Labor Day, Monday, September 1, at The Barn at Winthrop, located at 11349 Bloomingdale Ave. in Riverview, between Watson and Providence roads. The Moseley property, located at 1820 W. Brandon Blvd., is on the National Historic Registry and is being managed by the Timberley Trust Board of Trustees, led by President Mark Proctor.
The trustees, including Kay Sullivan, who co-founded the Winthrop neo-traditional community with her husband, John, and Amy Carey Lee, whose family has deep-rooted Brandon ties, are in the process of preserving and securing the Moseley property, including the home and barn, and digitizing and categorizing homestead contents. Under very controlled circumstances, the property has been open to movie production companies, including for the upcoming Lifetime movie Just Breathe.
“Miss Moseley was born on the property and lived there until her death at the ripe-old age of 102, five years ago,” said trustee Betty Jo Tompkins, who serves as the board’s secretary. “Julia realized from early on the absolute uniqueness of the site and resisted opportunities to sell the almost 15- acre property for millions of dollars. There’s not one in a million people who would do such a thing.”
Tompkins said what makes the property unique is that while historic buildings for viewing have been moved to Cracker Country at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa and to Pioneer Village at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Dover, the Timberley Trust buildings remain in their original sites, as constructed by the Moseley family in 1886 and beyond.
“The Moseleys were connected to the Elgin Watch Company, whose founders wanted a place to live in the wintertime to escape the winter cold up north,” Tompkins said. “The company moved a bunch of people down from Chicago to Brandon, Florida, which at the time was total wilderness basically.”
The cost for the Labor Day Legacy Picnic, including lunch, is $15 for adults, $10 for kids up to age 15 and free for children under age 6 with an adult. Proceeds are to benefit the homestead’s preservation and maintenance, including security costs. The event’s Main Legacy Sponsor is Odiorne Insurance Agency and Auto Owners Insurance. Still available are Community Champions and Picnic Partners partnerships, at $1,000 and $500, respectively. The sponsorship cost includes private tours of the Moseley Homestead.
For information, call Tompkins at 813-477-8332.
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