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Guide to Historic Sites in Florida

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Back to MapBack to TopFORTS & BATTLEFIELDS

Dade Battlefield Historic State Park

Forty-five minutes south of Ocala by car, the 80-acre park preserves the site where Seminole Indian warriors ambushed Maj. Francis L. Dade and his command on December 28, 1835, killing 105 of the 108 soldiers, during the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). The visitor center features displays and offers a 12-minute video about the battle.
(352) 793-4781
www.floridastateparks.org/dadebattlefield

Fort Barrancas & Fort Pickens

Originally built in 1844, 10-acre Fort Barrancas was restored in 1980 to look as it did when Confederates camped there in March 1865. The visitor's center, located on Pensacola's Naval Air Station base, 700 yards north of the Advanced Redoubt, displays exhibits on early Pensacola history and the critical role of the fort during the Civil War. Fifty minutes away by car is Fort Pickens, a Union stronghold during the war and later a prison that housed the Chiricahua Apache Chief Geronimo.
(850) 934-2600
www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/fort-barrancas.htm and www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/fort-pickens.htm

Fort Jefferson

Completed in 1962, the 219-square-mile, fortified Civil War-era island prison held Samuel A. Mudd, the doctor who provided medical treatment for President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Visitors can see the walls, towers, and armories of the western hemisphere's largest masonry fortress, which spans most of the 25-acre Garden Key Island, or scuba dive and snorkel among the many shipwrecks in the surrounding area. Boats leave Key West and take two hours to reach the island.
(305) 242-7700
www.nps.gov/drto

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic Park

Built in 1845, this brick fort remained in Union hands during the Civil War, guarding Key West Harbor from blockade runners. Guided tours of the fort include the barracks, three gun rooms, and the reinforced-concrete Osceola Battery built during the Spanish- American War.
(305) 292-6713
www.floridastateparks.org/forttaylor

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park

On February 20, 1864, the farmland supply routes of Olustee became the falsh point for a fierce engagement between a Union army detachment under Gen Seymour and a Confederate army under Gen. Beauregard. Interpretive signs recount the Confederate victory, in which 2,807 men died or were wounded.
(386) 758-0400
www.floridastateparks.org/olusteebattlefield

Back to MapBack to TopAVIATION & SPACE HISTORY SITES

Air Force Armament Museums

Built on the southern tip of the Eglin Air Force Base, the 28,000-square-foot museum explores American military avia- tion history from WWI to the present day. The extensive collection features more than 25 planes and aerial weapons, including a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter flown in the Vietnam War and a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, the "Mother of All Bombs."
(850) 651-1808
www.afarmamentmuseum.com

Fantasy of Flight

Guided tours lead from the main entrance of the 100,000-square-foot art deco facility in Polk City through three hangars chock-full of aviation history exhibits and more than 40 vintage aircrafts, including a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress, a flying replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, and the nation's only operational B-26 Marauder. Visitors can take part in a simulated dog fight in an authentic Corsair Fighter, take a trip in a hot air balloon, or fly in a Boeing Stearman PT-17. A multimedia exhibit on the Tusdkegee Airmen exhibits a restored P51C Mustang as well as photos and interviews of the first African American pilots.
(863) 84-3500
www.fantasyofflight.com

Kennedy Space Center

Completed in 1962, this 219-square- mile center has staged more than 100 manned NASA missions. In the Rocket Garden adjacent to the Kennedy Space Center, visitors can sit in replicas of Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules. A Saturn V rocket, the kind used to send 13 Apollo missions into space between 1967 and 1973, is the centerpiece of the Apollo-Saturn V Center, a museum that features exhibits on space history. Guided tours, originating from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, lead to the Mercury and Gemini launch pads where NASA experi- enced its first successes in the 1960s.
(321) 449-4444
www.kennedyspacecenter.com

National Naval Aviation Museum

This 300,000-square-foot museum in Pensacola, devoted to American aviation and naval history, houses 150 Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aircraft, including 5 A-4D Skyhawk jets that served in Vietnam and two N3N-3 Yellow Peril trainers from WWII. The most visited museum in Florida also contains a motion-based simulator in which visitors experience a five-minute multi- sensory experience ride.
(850) 453-2389
www.navalaviationmuseum.org

Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum

This 10-acre museum in Titusville holds a vast collection of American war planes from World War I to the present. Highlights include the World-War-II C-47 Skytrain transport "Tico Belle," a TA4-J Navy Skyhawk used by the Blue Angels, and a ME208 Messerschmitt, a World- War-II German fighter plane.
(321) 268-1941
www.vacwarbirds.org

Back to MapBack to TopFAMOUS HOMES & HISTORIC BUILDINGS

Dow Museum of Historic Homes

The nine houses in St. Augustine's historic block, dating from between 1790 and 1910, include the home of William Dean Howells. The famous author and pioneer of literary realism lived here in 1916, and wrote articles for Harper's Magazine about the adjacent Prince Murat House. Exhibit galleries and guided tours examine St. Augustine's extensive history.
(904) 823-9722
www.moas.org/dowmuseum

The Edison and Ford Winter Estates

In 1916, Henry Ford bought a craftsman-style bungalow adjacent to Thomas Edison's Victo- rian winter retreat in Fort Myers. The friends collaborated on such projects as rubber production. Today, living history reenactors dressed as the Fords and the Edisons answer questions on a guided tour that leads through the two mansions. Edison's botanical garden, at the center of the 17-acre grounds, contains Florida's largest banyan tree. Across the street, a 15,000-square-foot museum displays some of Edison's inventions, including the 1878 phonograph and a Model-T personally designed by his neighbor.
(239) 334-7419
www.efwefla.org

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

While living in this 1851 Key West Spanish Colonial home between 1931 and 1939, Ernest Hemingway finished the final draft of A Farewell to Arms and wrote "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." On the 30-minute guided tour of the house, visitors can read several letters addressed to him and see the author's Royal typewriter.
(305) 294-1136
www.hemingwayhome.com

Harry S. Truman Little White House Museum

Between 1946 and 1952, President Truman often wintered at this six-room cottage, now a museum featuring his original furniture and exhibits on his terms in office and the Cold War era.
(305) 294-9911
www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com

Hippodrome State Theatre

Completed in Marh 1911, the former Gainesville Federal Building is an excellent example of Palladian Classical Revival architecture. The structure was converted to the 266-seat Hippodrome State Theatre in 1981, where patrons can ride in authen- tic crank-operated elevators and see the original limestone columns and terrazzo floors. A gallery displays artwork by regional artists, while an 80-seat cinema on the first floor screens the latest independent films.
(352) 375-4477
www.thehipp.org

Oldest Houe Museum Complex

Built in St. Augustine between 1702 and 1705, the Gonzalez-Alvarez House is the oldest standing Spanish colonial residence in the state. The complex encompasses a fruit garden and five other buildings includ- ing the Museum of Florida's Military and the Manucy Museum, which features local Florida history, weapons, and genealogy.
(904) 824-2872
www.oldesthouse.org

Thomas Center for the Arts

This former 1910 private home is now restored as a Mediterranean Revival- style cultural center containing art galleries and exhibits on Gainesville history.
(352) 334-5067
www.gvlculturalaffairs.org

Back to MapBack to TopSPANISH COLONIAL SITES

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Since 1672, the 35-foot-high stone forti- fications of the Castillo have guarded the northern gateway to St. Augustine along the Matanzas River. The fort is the oldest in the nation and the only 17th-century bastion still standing in the U.S. Inside the fort, exhibits feature educational panels on the colonial Spanish military and displays of pistols and swords. Reenactors in colonial dress host cannon firings each weekend, and ranger programs on the history of the fort are offered daily on the hour.
(904) 829-6506
www.nps.gov/casa

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Augustine

In 1565, Spanish colonists in St. Augustine built North America's first cathedral out of pine posts and cypress fronds. Locals continually maintained the structure until 1788. Today, visitors can see the original coquina stone walls and façade, attend daily mass, and view the intricate stained glass windows.
(904) 824-2806
www.thefirstparish.org

De Soto National Memorial

In Bradenton, interpretive signs along the memorial's nature trail describe the controversial 4,000-mile expedition on which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and hundreds of other conquistadors died in pursuit of fortune. The half-mile trail leads to beach locations where de Soto might have landed in 1539. At nearby Camp Utiza, visitors can embark on a ranger-led kayak tour of the same waterways traveled by the Seminole Indi- ans and Spanish explorers.
(941) 792-0458
www.nps.gov/deso

Mission of Nombre de Dios and Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche

After landing in St. Augustine in 1565, Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles kissed a wooden cross and named the loca- tion, which became America's first mission, "Nombre de Dios," or "Name of God." The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, a 208-foot-tall cross, and an outdoor altar stand on the site of the former mission.
(904) 824-2809
www.missionandshrine.org

Mission San Luis

The Tallahassee mission, operated from 1633 to 1704 and reconstructed in 2000, contains recreated Apalachee Indian and Spanish structures, including a 120-foot-long council house that could hold more than 1,500 people. Interpreters in 16th-century dress welcome visitors with demonstrations of pine-needle weaving crafts, skills, and seasonal activities.
(850) 487-3711
www.missionsanluis.org

Back to MapBack to TopNATIVE AMERICAN SITES

Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum

Built in 1997 on the Big Cypress Reserva- tion in Clewiston, the 5,000-square- foot Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, meaning a "place to learn," features 11,000 Semi- nole Indian artifacts, and documents the tribe's spiritual, cultural, and domestic life from the 1800s to the present. The dramatic film We Seminoles recounts how the "Unconquered People" successfully resisted relocation and defended tribal lands from the U.S. government in the 18th century. Tribal members make traditional art and answer questions on Seminole history at the living history village located directly behind the museum.
(877) 902-1113
www.ahtahthiki.com

Indian Temple Mound Museum

Indian Temple Mound Museum Interpretive exhibits display more than 6,000 examples of stones, bones, and ceramics, documenting 12 centuries of Native American history in Fort Walton. The adjacent temple mound was originally built around 1300 as a ceremonial and political center.
(850) 833-9595
www.fwb.org

Letchworth-Love Mounds State Park

The 46-foot-tall ceremonial Letchworth-Love Mound, built between 200 and 900 A.D. by members of the Weedon Island Culture, is the tallest surviving Indian mound in Florida. Interpretive signs around the mound's perimeter and its guided tours explore the mound's history.
(850) 922-6007
www.loridastateparks.org/letchworth

Old Florida Museum

Interactive exhibits on display at the outdoor museum include reconstructed buildings and hands-on historical models exploring Tallahassee history. Visitors can play in ball and cup games, and use 17th-centry tools to grind corn, wash clothes with a water pump, and play conch shell trumpets.
(904) 824-8874
www.oldfloridamuseum.com

Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve

Forty-six thousand acres of coastal Florida within present-day Jacksonville were home to Timucuan Indians once inhabited more than 1,000 years ago. The preserve today contains Fort Caroline, the Kingsley Plan- tation, and the Theodore Roosevelt trail. The visitor center, located adjacent to Fort Caroline, has displays devoted to Timu- cuan history, the arrival of the French, and the Spanish assault that destroyed the French settlement.
(904) 641-7155
www.nps.gov/timu

Back to MapBack to TopFAMILY FRIENDLY HISTORY SITES

Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site

In the mid-19th century, hundreds of textile workers labored in the seven mills spread throughout 34 acres in Milton, near south- ern Pensacola, now the site of a museum about the mills' operation and their influ- ence on Northwest Florida. The discovery pavilion contains working water wheels, while an elevated three-quarter-mile boardwalk enables visitors to view the mill foundations.
(850) 626-3084
www.historicpensacola.org/arcadia.cfm

Hannibal Square Heritage Center

The center, located to the north of Orlando in Winter Park, contains thousands of photographs and oral history accounts of the 20th-century African American community of West Winter Park. Also on site are two art galleries, a digital photography studio, and the Heritage Center Family History Research Library.
(407) 539-2680
www.hannibalsquareheritagecenter.org

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

Entertainer John Ringling's 66-acre estate, art collection, and Venetian Gothic-style mansion in Sarasota became Florida's official state art museum in 1927. The collection contains more than 10,000 paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts, including works by Marrioto di Cione, Gainesborough, Boudin, and Rubens. The Ringling Museum of the American Circus examines the history of the circus with displays of props, vintage flyers and posters, and a scale replica of the 1918 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
(941) 359-5700
www.ringling.org

Museum of Florida History

Visitors can explore recreations of an 1880 steamboat and a citrus industry packing house. The Tallahassee museum has exhibits on Seminole Indian history and Florida's role in the Civil War and World War II, and features original uniforms and weapons, as well as pieces of gold and silver from a 1517 shipwreck off the Florida coast. A 10-minute walk northeast leads to the Greek Revival antebellum Knott House, built by the freed black man, George Proctor, in 1843. The house's 10 rooms contain Victorian furnishings and displays on the whimsical poetry of a former 19th- century resident.
(850) 245-6400
www.flheritage.com/museum

South Florida Museum

Located in Bradenton, the museum's dioramas include life-size reproductions of Ice Age mammals, marine fossils, a replicated 16th-century Spanish chapel, and antique medical equipment displays. The collection of Florida native archaeologist Montague Tallant features over 4,000 arti- facts including Native American pottery, imported gold and silver ornaments, and 16th-century glass beads.
(941) 746-4131
www.southfloridamuseum.org

Tampa Bay History Center

The recently opened, 60,000-square-foot center features exhibits spanning 12,000 years of regional history from Native American settlement and Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto's 16th-century explorations to the growth of Tampa's industrial ports. Visitors can view a 16-minute multimedia presentation on Seminole war chief Coacoochee, rotating, life-size dioramas of historical events, and surround-sound films. The "Cigar City" exhibit on the early cigar industry in the Tampa Bay region showcases original advertising posters and cigar boxes.
(813) 228-0097
www.tampabayhistorycenter.org

Back to MapBack to TopLIVING HISTORY MUSEUMS

Colonial Spanish Quarter

The six-building St. Augustine's South- east Quarter is set up to enable visitors to explore daily life in a remote 18th-century Spanish outpost. Costumed interpreters perform blacksmithing, carpentry, and other trades common to the time. The Taberna del Gallo, a recreated public tavern, dates back to 1734.
(904) 825-6830
www.historicstaugustine.com

Dudley Farm Historic State Park

This 325-acre living history plantation, located west of Gainesville in Newberry, contains 18 buildings, including the house in which the Dudley family lived in the late 19th century, complete with the original furniture and kitchen outfitted with syrup- making equipment. Living history actors grind the sugarcane, care for horses and chickens, and perform other duties of the farmers who worked the fields here between the 1850s and the 1940s.
(352) 472-1142
www.floridastateparks.org/DudleyFarm

Heritage Village

Throughout the 21-acre living history village in Largo, which includes more than 25 historic buildings, costumed intepreters demonstrate daily 20th-century activities of Pinellas County pioneers, such as cooking with farm tools and basket weaving with palm fronds.
(727) 582-2123
www.pinellascounty.org/heritage

 

Historic Pensacola Village

The eigh-and-a-half-acre village complex includes the T. T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum, which covers early Pensacola history from first Spanish contactd to the 1559 de Luna expedition. The Discovery Gallery features hands-on exhibits about Seminole tribe life and dioramas of colonial life in Florida. The village contains the 1832 Old Christ Church, 1871 Dorr House, and Pensacola Museum of Industry, and the Pensacola Museum of Commerce.
(850) 595-5985
www.historicpensacola.org

 

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings House and Farm Yard

The former home of 1839 Pulitzer Prize-winner, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who wrote The Yearling, is located southeast of Gainesville in Hawthorne, and offers an example of Florida Cracker architecture, wood frame pioneer houses with a long central hallway, metal roof, and large porch. Tour guides dressed in rural, period attire evoke Florida fashion in the 1930s.
(352) 466-3672
www.floridastateparks.org/marjoriekinnanrawlings