November 2010

Housed in the former 1910 Merchant's Bank building, the museum exhibits the history of the greater Daytona Beach area from 5,000 B.C. to the present day. Located in Historic Downtown, the museum displays artifacts relating to the Spanish and British colonial periods, pioneer families, World War I and II and vintage Americana. The Racing Zone features early beach racing through NASCAR. The Grandma's Attic of the museum contains antique toys. Extensive photos, maps and documents are available for research.

Since the late 16th century, Government House, located at the west end of the Plaza in downtown St. Augustine, has been a leading administrative center for the City...The earliest documented building on the Government House site was a residence built by Governor Gonzalo Mendez de Canzo about 1598. The laying out of the town conformed to a royal decree which stipulated that all Spanish towns must have a central plaza. Buildings, such as the church, government house and market were to face the Plaza...In recent years it has undergone extensive renovation and restoration and now houses the Government House Museum and offices of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board.

The concept of an active "living museum" is evidenced by the dozens of different exhibits, events, meetings and functions held at the Plumas County Museum. Permanent exhibits include an outstanding collection of baskets woven by the area’s original Mountain Maidu Indians. The Industrial History Wing features "Railroads of Plumas County", "Gold Mining on the Feather River", and "TIMBER!", an exhibit about the lumber industry of the county. Other developing collections include natural history specimens, audio-visual resources, the Chinese influence, and the historically accurate Andrew Lynch Memorial Garden. The Exhibit Yard provides the visitor with a look at some of the equipment used by Plumas pioneers to wrest a living from the area’s natural resources. A sleigh, water wagon, hydraulic monitors, logging equipment, a working blacksmith shop and restored gold miner’s log cabin are just some of the items found here.

This estate began in the 1830's as a cotton and corn plantation that ultimately encompassed 2,400 acres. The plantation's agricultural emphasis declined after the Civil War and by the 1880's the remaining 160 acres, home and garden served as an elegant private residence. In 1911 Goodwood's ownership changed and the house and garden underwent major renovation, securing a place among the fine homes of the Country Estate era. The estate's style and elegance was further enhanced by Goodwood's owners in the late 1920's. Our restoration efforts focus on this turn-of-the-century Country Estate era, ever mindful of Goodwood's rich 19th-century history.

Miami's Gold Coast Railroad Museum houses an extensive collection of authentic train cars, including the "Ferdinand Magellan," commissioned for use by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Museum was formed in 1957 by a group of Miamian's who were trying to save pieces of Florida history that were taken for granted and rapidly disappearing. Some of the earliest pieces in the collection are the "Ferdinand Magellan," the private railroad car built for President Franklin Roosevelt; the Florida East Coast Railway locomotive #153 , the engine that pulled the rescue train out of Marathon, Florida after the 1935 hurricane; and the #113, an FEC locomotive built in 1913 and used in regular revenue service over the entire Florida East Coast railroad.

At the El Dorado County Historical Museum, visitors can take an informative tour, wander among the historical artifacts, or research a family ancestor.

Examine the artifacts and photographs from the past. Exhibits begin with a collection of baskets and tools made by skilled artists of the Maidu, Miwok and Washoe Native American people who lived in the region before and after the Gold Rush. Gold was officially discovered in Coloma by James Marshall on January 24, 1848 while constructing a sawmill for John Sutter. Thousands of people traveled to the gold fields in El Dorado County and the neighboring counties to the north and south. The museum exhibits continue the story of El Dorado County after the gold rush was over. Old trails became busy thoroughfares. Farm wagons, carriages, a surrey and even a fully restored Concord Stage Coach illustrate the best means of transportation before automobiles were popular. Artifacts from the past such as a sheepherder’s covered wagon, a parlor from a fine home, and a General Store from around 1900 are also on display.

War time hysteria caused the relocation of 120,000 Japanese Americans to be relocated to one of ten inland camps. An inscription on the monument commemorating the Topaz Camp states "without hearings or trials, this act of injustice is based solely on the color of their skin and the country of their origin". Continuing, the plague states "America's fear and distrust of these citizens precipitated by Japan's attack on Peal harbor is placated".

The Topaz Camp was spread out over 20,000 acres with armed watch towers constructed every quarter mile around the perimeter. The facility included barracks, community dining halls, laundry rooms and latrines. There were schools, a hospital, a post office, stores, industry and some limited recreational opportunities provided for them. During the war many young Japanese volunteered to fight from these internment camps. The 442nd RCT and 100th Battalion made up of entirely young Japanese Americans suffered major war casualties and go on to become the U.S. Army's most highly-decorated combat unit in it's history.

The Gamble Plantation's history stretches from Major Robert Gamble, who presided over a large-scale nineteenth-century sugar plantation in the mansion, to Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin, who awaited his safe passage to England here after the Confederacy collapsed in 1865. Today, the mansion's furniture and décor evokes an upscale Victorian plantation.

It is the only surviving plantation house in South Florida. It is believed that Confederate Secretary of State, Judah P. Benjamin, took refuge here after the fall of the Confederacy, until his safe passage to England could be secured. In 1925, the house and 16 acres were saved by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and donated to the state. Today, the mansion is furnished in the style of a successful mid-19th century plantation,

The fort was begun in 1829, completed in 1834, and used until the 1940s. Geronimo spent some time in captivity there in the last two decades of the 19th century. Built in the age of wooden warships and cannons firing round balls, the fort underwent changes in response to advances in weapon technology following the Civil War. Ten concrete gun batteries, including one in the middle of the historic fort, were built from the 1890s through the 1940s, each a response to a particular threat. Atomic bombs, guided missiles, and long-range bombers made such forts obsolete by the end of World War II and the Army abandoned the forts. Following extensive repairs by the National Park Service, the fort was reopened in 1976.

The power politics of 18th century England and Spain reached across the Atlantic to the Florida frontier. In 1738, the Spanish governor of Florida chartered Fort Mose as a settlement for freed Africans who had fled slavery in the British Carolinas. When Spain ceded Florida to Britain in 1763, the inhabitants of Fort Mose migrated to Cuba. Although nothing remains of the fort, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 for its importance in American history. Visitors may view the site from a boardwalk and stop for a picnic in a covered pavilion.