Riverview Motel & St. Mary’s Liquors

Once a popular stop for travelers, the Riverview Motel stood along US-17 near the Georgia–Florida state line. The one-story, L-shaped building held a dozen rooms arranged around a central courtyard, with the office positioned at its center. The motel’s sign advertised air-conditioned rooms, and several doors still displayed the original posted rates: $9 per night for one person; $12 for two sharing one bed; $14 for two in separate beds; and an additional $2 for each extra guest. The owners, Knud Howard Olfort and his wife, Nellie Vanzant Olfort, lived in a small house on the property and also operated a souvenir shop and adjoining bar/liquor store known as St. Mary’s Liquors.

Knud Howard Olfort was born on October 29, 1903, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He later came to the United States with his father and resided in Chicago. He married his first wife, Genevieve Piotrowski, on September 19, 1927, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She later appeared on the 1935 census in Nassau County, Florida, with Knud. He filed for divorce on August 16, 1939, citing desertion, since Genevieve had been committed to the Florida State Hospital in Gadsden sometime between 1935 and 1939. She contested the divorce, but it was granted to Knud anyway. Genevieve Piotrowski died in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 4, 1987, and her body was never claimed. Her ashes were buried in the Potter’s Field / Hillside Cemetery in Jacksonville.

Knud Olfort remarried on August 9, 1939, to Johnnie Mae Richards in Altha, Florida, even though his divorce from Genevieve had not been finalized. He met Johnnie Mae on one of his trips to visit Genevieve. Johnnie Mae later filed for divorce in West Palm Beach in 1942 due to “desertion and extreme cruelty.“ Knud contested the divorce, but it was granted anyway.

Knud married his third wife, Nellie Vanzant, on March 17, 1943, in Nassau County, Florida. Knud & Nellie opened the Riverview Motel, St. Mary’s Liquors, and a souvenir shop on their property in 1954. The motel property includes a large amount of acreage behind the business. Before Interstate 95 was built, the Riverview was the first motel in Florida that southbound travelers reached on U.S. 17. It was a very lucrative business in the 1960s. However, by the 1990s, the motel units, the office, and the restaurant and bar were shuttered. An older vacant house on the property was used for storage. Only the Olforts’ newer home was occupied. Right across the street stood the remnants of a Florida Welcome Station, deserted and boarded up, with its picnic tables partially obscured by tall weeds. Despite the site’s isolation, the Olforts, who had no children, continued to live there after they closed the businesses.

On January 3, 1993, 74-year-old Nellie Olfort went missing. Police considered Olfort’s disappearance suspicious because she left her home with no money or identification. Her husband of nearly 50 years reported her missing. Massive searches by horseback, helicopter, and boat produced no clues to her whereabouts. A veteran detective told reporters he had “bad vibes” about the case. When authorities attempted to search for her, Knud refused to allow anyone onto the property. Without his help, the case went cold. Offers to purchase the property arose, but Knud declined to sell. When a movie producer discovered the dilapidated motel and offered to make repairs in exchange for using the property to film, Knud still declined.

Knud Olfort passed away on June 28, 1997, at the age of 93. Following Knud’s death, the property was given to Nellie’s sister, Lena Christian. Two years later, on September 11, 1999, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office was operating a routine search with their newly acquired side-scan sonar in search of possible suicide victims in the St. Mary’s River when Nellie’s car was discovered at the bottom of the river, her skeletal remains found in the backseat. The discovery was less than a half mile from the motel. According to local authorities, Knud may have been involved in Nellie’s disappearance. Nothing is certain. His unwillingness to cooperate with the search for his wife led many to speculate that Knud had something to do with her disappearance.

Before 2011, many counties in Georgia were still dry, making it illegal for residents to purchase alcohol on Sundays. Locals would often cross the state line to buy their liquor from St. Mary’s Liquors. Construction on Interstate 95 began in 1959, and by 1960 the first segment through Jacksonville was completed. By the 1970s, most of the interstate system from South Carolina to Miami had been finished. Travelers were no longer limited to the old highways on their way to Florida, and many chose the newer, faster route instead.

Some speculate that the completion of I-95 marked the beginning of the motel’s decline. Others argue that the business didn’t close because of a lack of traffic at all. The motel has sat vacant since the 1990s. Curtains still hung in most of the windows, and many of the floors had rotted through entirely. Some rooms retained a mattress or a few leftover pieces of furniture, and several even had clothing still hanging in the closets. In early 2020, the property was sold to a new owner, who cleared the land and demolished the old motel and the surrounding storefronts.

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