Museum of Florida History

06/10/2026

Check out these cute kids’ wallets with their images of Florida beach and sea scenes. The donor of the wallets collected Florida tourist memorabilia and bought the wallets at a Florida souvenir shop on Highway 27 in south Florida in the 1980s. Do you like to pick up fun souvenirs on your summer vacations?
📷: Girls’ souvenir wallets, ca. 1975–85. Collection of the Museum of Florida History

06/08/2026

06/06/2026

National Fishing and Boating week is the first full week in June. This year, it falls between June 6 and 14. The Florida Board of Conservation published this “Make Sure Make Shore” booklet to teach youth safe boating practices and prepare them to operate watercraft responsibly. The Florida Board of Conservation operated from 1933 until it was folded into the newly created Florida Department of Natural Resources, now the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, in 1969. If you are going out on the water this week—or anytime—maybe this booklet will help remind you to have fun on the water but always practice safety!
📷: “Make Sure Make Shore, The Florida State Junior Boatman’s Safety Course” booklet, ca. 1967–70. Collection of the Museum of Florida History

06/05/2026

The Museum of Florida History and the Department of Transportation collaborated to create the Florida Freedom Tour. These traveling trucks showcase over 500 years of Florida history in honor of the nation’s semiquincentennial. The schedule for the Florida Freedom Tour can be seen above, and more information can be found at america250fl.com.

06/03/2026

The Old Trenton Train Depot at 111 NW 4th Avenue offers a glimpse into the railroad history of this quaint Gilchrist County town. The Florida Freedom Tour is stopping in at the Old Trenton Train Depot today! The Florida Freedom tour is delivering history all summer! More about Florida Freedom Tour here: America250FL.com
Gilchrist County Board of County Commissioners

05/31/2026

It’s National Smile Day, a good time to check out this fun button with the smiling orange! The Florida Council of 100 issued this button in 1963. Formed in 1961, the Florida Council of 100 is comprised of business leaders that advise government officials on issues pertaining to Florida’s economy and quality of life for its residents. An early focus of the Council centered on promoting tourism. In January 1963, the Council launched its Courtesy Campaign, a two-month long, statewide effort to make tourists feel welcome. The smiling orange was the theme of the campaign. State agencies, news media, businesses, and civic organizations all participated. Newspapers were encouraged to publish editorials welcoming tourists, billboards went up along some highways, and the Council issued posters and other memorabilia, including these smiling orange buttons that Floridians could wear when greeting tourists. May this cheery button help you smile today!

📷: Promotional button, 1963. Collection of the Museum of Florida History

05/24/2026

For , let’s rock out with a pair of brothers central to Southern rock history. Duane and Gregg Allman grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee. Throughout their childhood and early adulthood, both brothers played with and formed multiple bands, which took them to Muscle Shoals, Alabama; St. Louis, Missouri; and Los Angeles, California. In March 1969, they joined Dickey Betts, “Jaimoe” Johanson, Butch Trucks, and Berry Oakley to form the Allman Brothers Band in Jacksonville, Florida. The band’s sound combined the diverse musical interests and influences of its members, creating a blend of jazz, country, rock, and blues. Though their first two albums achieved little commercial success, the band became known for their jam session-inspired live performances.
Shortly after the launch of the band’s influential 1971 live album At Fillmore East, Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident. The following year, the band released their acclaimed album Eat a Peach which featured the last studio recordings shared by the brothers.
Though deeply impacted by the loss of Duane (and Berry Oakley soon after), the band agreed to continue making music and did so with a variety of members participating over the years. This poster promotes the Allman Brothers Band’s thirteenth album, An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set, released in 1992.

📷: Allman Brothers Band Poster, 1992. Collection of the Museum of Florida History

05/20/2026