Florida is home to over 600 historical societies, preservation organizations, and heritage groups. From major institutions in Tallahassee, Miami, and Tampa to small-town societies preserving local heritage, these organizations maintain vital connections to Florida's rich past.
Featured Historical Societies
Florida Historical Society
Location: Cocoa, FL
Founded: 1856
Florida's oldest existing cultural organization, maintaining archives, publishing Florida history research, and operating the Library of Florida History. Promotes preservation and study of Florida's past.
Website: floridahistoricalsociety.org
HistoryMiami Museum
Location: Miami, FL
Founded: 1940
Smithsonian Affiliate exploring South Florida's multicultural heritage through exhibits, educational programs, and extensive archives documenting Miami's transformation from frontier to international city.
Website: historymiami.org
St. Augustine Historical Society
Location: St. Augustine, FL
Founded: 1883
Preserves the history of America's oldest continuously occupied European settlement. Operates research library, museum, and historic buildings documenting 450+ years of St. Augustine history.
Website: staugustinehistoricalsociety.org
Tampa Bay History Center
Location: Tampa, FL
Founded: 2009
Comprehensive museum exploring 12,000 years of Tampa Bay area history. Interactive exhibits cover Native cultures, Spanish exploration, cigar industry, and growth into major metropolitan area.
Website: tampabayhistorycenter.org
Key West Shipwreck Museum
Location: Key West, FL
Founded: 1990
Interprets Key West's 19th-century wrecking industry when salvaging shipwrecks made city America's richest per capita. Features artifacts from 1856 wreck of Isaac Allerton.
Pensacola Historical Society
Location: Pensacola, FL
Founded: 1933
Documents America's first Spanish settlement and five flags that flew over Pensacola. Operates museums in restored historic structures throughout downtown district.
Orange County Regional History Center
Location: Orlando, FL
Founded: 1942
Explores Central Florida from Timucua peoples through citrus industry to theme park development. Four floors of exhibits in restored 1927 courthouse.
Florida Museum of Natural History
Location: Gainesville, FL
Founded: 1891
State's official natural history museum with extensive holdings on Florida archaeology, paleontology, and ecology. Documents human habitation from Paleoindian cultures forward.
Website: floridamuseum.ufl.edu
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Submit a Society →Additional Florida History Resources
- Florida Historical Society - Statewide history organization
- Florida Division of Historical Resources - State historic preservation office
- Florida State Archives - State archives in Tallahassee