November 2010

The Renwick Gallery, a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, features one of the finest collections of American craft in the United States. Its collections, exhibition program and publications highlight the best craft objects and decorative arts from the 19th century to the present. One-of-a-kind pieces created from clay, fiber, glass, metal, and wood from SAAM's permanent collection of contemporary craft are displayed on a rotating basis in the second-floor galleries. Popular works include Larry Fuente's Game Fish, Wendell Castle's Ghost Clock, and Beth Lipman's Bancketje (Banquet). Temporary exhibitions of American craft and decorative arts are shown on the Renwick Gallery's first floor. There special exhibitions highlighting contemporary artists as well as traditions in American craft open in the spring and fall. Several hundred paintings from the museum's permanent collection-hung salon style: one-atop-another and side-by-side-are featured in special installations in the Grand Salon. An interactive map to the Gallery is available online.

The commission's responsibilities include: maintaining restored buildings and grounds within the Manatee Village Historical Park, preserving and maintaining artifacts, records and documents of local interest, educating the community, residents, visitors and students in county history, and coordinating volunteer programs for the operation of the park.

In addition to being a house museum, there are changing exhibits on various subjects related to the history of Yolo County. The outbuildings contain displays of agriculture and everyday life of the same period.

The largest remaining Indian mound in the Tampa Bay Region, Manatee County Emerson Point Mound offers a rare look back into the ceremonial practices of the Native Americans who populated the region before the arrival of Europeans. A boardwalk takes visitors to the top of the mound for a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

The Museum features Maitland on the Move a permanent exhibition tracing Maitland history through time. The Historical Museum also highlights different periods of Central Florida history by bringing in at least two different traveling exhibitions each year. Call the Museum to find out what exhibition is currently featured. While visiting the Historical Museum, take time to see the Maitland Telephone Museum, which showcases the development of the Winter Park Telephone Company and the technological growth of Maitland. (from website.)

This museum explores the marvels of agriculture and commercial trucking through 130,000 square feet of interactive, unique exhibits featuring the latest technologies.

The cornerstones of these exhibits are the Fred C. Heidrick Antique Ag Collection, the world’s largest and most unique collection of one-of-a-kind antique agricultural equipment and the Hays Antique Truck Museum, also recognized as the largest of its kind in the world.

The Drum Barracks Civil War Museum is housed in the last remaining wooden building of Drum Barracks, named after Adjutant General Richard Coultier Drum, of the Department of the Pacific. The facility served as the Union Army headquarters in the Southwest (Southern California and the Arizona Territory) from 1861 - 1871. Drum Barracks, which was first called Camp Drum, served as the main staging, training and supply base for military operations in the Southwest, and occupied approximately sixty acres of land with an additional thirty-seven acres near the harbor. 

This local historical society was organized in 1896 by concerned citizens from the city of Medford, Massachusetts. Their purpose was to collect and preserve the history of this historic city, to correct the myths that had grown up over the years, to build a historical library, to collect the artifacts of local history, and to celebrate historical anniversaries.

The Society's collections include hundreds of items from Medford's long and lively history including town reports, city directories, genealogical materials, school records, maps, photographs, postcards, documents, art works, military artifacts, textiles, and many, many, many other objects and writings. The Society also maintains a library of reference materials to help with Medford history research.

The house is restored with Victorian style furniture to look as it did when the Banning family resided there. The museum also educates visitors on the life of Banning, from his time running a stage coach business, to his travel on the high seas, to his involvement in the Civil War.

Exhibits at the Longboat Key Historical Museum Gordon Whitney’s Shell Collection; A Pictoral History of Longboat Key; Bound copies of the Longboat Observer from 1978 to present; Plaque of the old south end bridge; Old post cards; Charts; Tom Mayers' anchor.