Cigar Workers Cottage:

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For forty years, from the early 1890s until the early 1930s, cigar manufacturing played a significant role in Punta Gorda's industry. In 1891, the El Palmetto Cigar Manufacturing Co. constructed a large wooden factory alongside a series of duplex cottages for their employees at the southeast corner of E. Virginia Ave. and Cochran St. (now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.), where the Blanchard House Museum now stands.

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Each cottage housed two families, with one occupying each side, while cooking and bathroom facilities were located outdoors. Because skilled cigar rollers were in high demand, providing housing likely helped retain workers in Punta Gorda. Despite these efforts, the company operated for only a decade before being liquidated in 1901.

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During the 1920s, Del Huckeby from Cleveland acquired several cottages and relocated them to Brown and Wood Streets, situated between Marion and Olympia Avenues, opposite the new County Courthouse. He converted the structures into single-family homes by adding front porches.

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In 1999, two of these historic buildings were donated to the Punta Gorda Historical Society. One was deemed beyond restoration, while the other required urgent relocation under police supervision due to its poor condition; legend has it that bets were placed on whether it would withstand the move. On October 12, 1999, the building was successfully transported.

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Once settled at History Park, restoration began on the Cigar Worker's Cottage, stripping it to its framework and rebuilding it with salvaged lumber, boards, and windows from the second cottage, as well as planks sourced from a similarly aged church lost to fire. Volunteers devoted 3,500 hours to its revival.

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After Hurricane Charley caused severe damage in 2004, the cottage remained closed for a year as extensive repairs were made to the roof, south wall, and other storm-affected areas.

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Today, this remarkable structure serves as the SWFL Glass Fuser Art Gallery, home to a community of glass artists.