The Enrico Dairy Farmhouse Receives Historic Designation

On May 23, 2012 the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Board officially designated the Enrico Dairy Farmhouse as Miami Gardens’ second historic structure. The Sunshine State Arch or Arch of Industry was the first designated historic structure in the City.

Located along N.W. 12th Avenue just north of Miami Gardens Drive, the Farmhouse represents the City of Miami Gardens’ oldest home. Italian immigrant Savino “Sam” Enrico founded his dairy in 1911. Mr. Enrico bought the first milk cow to the Everglades in 1914. He also grew the first black Spanish grapes for the people of Miami. Built in 1925, the roof blew off in the Great Hurricane of the 1920’s. After that experience the roof was tied down with cables on each of four corners that were secured to the ground with deep concrete foundations. Jack DePaoli, another Italian, was a dairyman for Savino “Sam” Enrico at the Dairy. He married into the family and the DePaoli’s inherited the 15-acre property. In 1975 the DePaoli’s donated the property to the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami who owned it for 34 years until the City bought it in 2009.

Originally the second story was the living area with the ground story as the cow barn. With over 2,000 square feet, the main living area is now downstairs. Former City Councilman Melvin Bratton proposed establishing a historic preservation program in the city, authorizing the Enrico Farmhouse to become the repository/museum for the City’s historic archives.

The City is currently proceeding to renovate the building’s heat and air conditioning system so that it can be utilized for storing historic materials. The City is currently applying for a state grant to enable additional renovations that will provide ADA/Handicapped Accessibility and Building/Life Safety Improvements necessary to open the building for public use. In addition, the City staff is working to establish a partnership with the University of Miami Libraries to assist the City of Miami Gardens archiving historical documents and projects.

For further information contact Jay Marder, Development Services Director, at 305-622-8025 or jmarder@miamigardensfl.gov


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