Ma Barker’s Bullet-Riddled Lake Home!

Ma Barker’s Bullet-Riddled Lake Home!

Ma Barker's Bullet-Riddled Lake Home!

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Not to shoot a good legend in the foot, but it may have been that the FBI fabricated the Ma Barker legend as part of a publicity stunt. Was she the mastermind behind the crimes of the notorious Barker-Karpis Gang? As one imprisoned criminal who knew the family well put it, "She couldn’t plan breakfast." The FBI was in its infancy at the time and J. Edgar Hoover wasn't shy about spinning stories and creating positive publicity for his agency and himself. Highlighting the escapades of depression era gangsters was a shoe-in. Ma and her son, Fred, were killed in this Lake Weir, Florida house after a four hour shootout.

Built in 1930 as a vacation home for wealthy Miami furniture manufacturer, Carson Bradford, the home stayed in the same family for four generations. It was rented to Ma Barker and her son under an alias and even after the longest and fiercest shootout in FBI history, the Bradford family continued to use it. It is said that the children in the family enjoyed digging on the property in hopes of one day finding a hidden treasure of cash belonging to the gang. Over the years, the only upgrade was the kitchen and though many of the 2,000 bullet holes were filled, some still remain. Before and after pictures show that everything inside the house, including the furniture, has been preserved as it was prior to the shootout - an excellent example of living history.

Located just outside of Ocklawaha, 62 miles northwest of Orlando, the two-story frame house comprises2,016 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. The sale includes9.5 acres shaded by stands of old oak trees and 1.5 acres of sandy beach on Lake Weir.

Florida home where Public Enemy No. 1 and son were gunned down by FBI. Asking $1 million – bids accepted through October 5th.

Source: www.mabarkerhouse.com