Historic McSwain Home Museum and Gardens

05/18/2026

Hidden stories. Local history. Upcoming events. A look behind the scenes at the Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens.

Our newest newsletter is out now.

Read it here:

https://conta.cc/4uEwEZI

www.bonitaspringshistoricalsociety.org/stayconnected

Email from Bonita Springs Historical Society So Much Is Changing in Bonita | See what’s happening at the Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens What’s Happening This Month at the McSwain Home April br

03/14/2026

National Art Fest is happening in Downtown Bonita Springs Today and tomorrow and we are honored to welcome Miccosukee Elder and Artist Leroy Osceola of at the McSwain Home at 27451 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs. View his art, meet the artist, take a tour of the home.
McSwain Home Hours:
Open today 11am-5pm.
Sunday 11am-2pm.

Artist Hours: 10am-4pm Sat and Sun 14/15 March

03/07/2026

History is waiting.

02/15/2026

https://conta.cc/4tEnLQd

02/05/2026

Preserving, protecting, and promoting our community's history for 40 years

Through careful restoration and thoughtful design, we aim to preserve the integrity of this important piece of our cultural heritage, while also creating a dynamic environment that serves the needs of our community today and into the future.

01/06/2026

Downtown Walking History Walking History Tours | Spring 2026

Marine Biologist Dr. Geoff Trager will lead weekly History & Natural History Walking Tours in Downtown Bonita Springs beginning Spring 2026. Presented in partnership with the Historic McSwain Home, the 45-minute guided walk explores the town of Survey, early pioneer families, the Imperial River system, and the natural landscapes that shaped early life in Bonita Springs.

Tours begin at the Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens, 27451 Old 41 Road, Bonita Springs, FL.

Hosted by the McSwain Home Museum and Gardens, a nonprofit 501(c)(3).

01/05/2026

Love art? Love history?
Stop by this weekend.

As the 2026 Bonita Arts Festival kicks off, the Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens is proud to feature its own Artist-in-Residence just a short walk away.

Well known local artist Lynne Raimondo will be on site from 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, sharing her work at one of Bonita Springs’ oldest historic homes.

Guided tours of the McSwain Home and pioneer gardens will take place both days from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM, offering visitors insight into Bonita’s early families and development.

The Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens is operated by the Bonita Springs Historical Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, dedicated to preserving local history through education and community programs.

📍 Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens
🕙 Artist on site: 10 AM–4 PM
🕚 Home & garden tours: 11 AM–2 PM

01/04/2026

Florida’s future is growing — and so is its past.

As Florida explores new crops like the acerola cherry, a vitamin-C-rich superfruit suited to our climate, we’re reminded that innovation often begins with understanding the land. Long before research trials and headlines, Florida homesteads grew what worked — resilient, productive plants shaped by soil, sun, and season.

At the Historic McSwain Home Museum & Gardens, our gardens reflect that same mindset. Native plantings, pollinator spaces, and edible landscapes tell a story of sustainability, self-reliance, and living in rhythm with nature.

🌱 Calling all gardeners, growers, and plant lovers:
Come walk the gardens, share what you’re growing, and be part of a living conversation about Florida’s past, present, and future landscapes.

History doesn’t just live inside the house — it grows in the garden.

12/24/2025

Fast forward to the 1970s…

By the 1970s, the Historic McSwain Home Museum and Gardens had become home to Hudon and Ann Humphries and their two children. Hudon was a respected local pharmacist. Ann was a renowned doll maker, artist, and collector, with several of her works later sold at Christie’s Fine Art Auction in New York.

In 2011, the Bonita Springs Historical Society received an extraordinary and unexpected gift when the Humphries family bequeathed the home and property to the Society.

12/23/2025

The McSwain Home | History

Joseph and Elizabeth McSwain arrived in the settlement of Survey with six children in 1901. Having come from Osyka, Mississippi, the last leg of their trip from Fort Myers was by oxcart, requiring the oldest children to walk. They settled on the banks of the Imperial River (Surveyor's Creek) in an area near I-75 where they went to work and built a thatched roof cabin made of logs and mud.