Updated: 9/18/2013 
Historical Society of Avon Park
Avon Park, Florida
Description

Through our website of the Historical Society of Avon Park, its Depot Museum and its railroad dining car, we hope you get to know us: who we are, and more importantly, what we do.

Depot Museum

Depot Museum Avenue, home to the Depot Museum, the Avon Park Public Library and the city’s community center, is now known as the Cultural Core of Avon Park. At the heart of this core is the museum, operated by the Historical Society of Avon Park. The museum serves as an ever-growing, multifaceted resource for the community. It was built as a railroad station in 1926 by the Seaboard Railroad, which brought hundreds of people to the area in the late 1920s, many of whom would later settle here. Thousands of soldiers -- and their families -- also arrived in Avon Park by train during World War II, when the city was home to two Army Air Corps training facilities. A number of these soldiers married local girls and later returned to make Avon Park their home.

Today, the Depot’s main function is to serve as a historical museum for Avon Park and the surrounding area. It features a number of ever-growing exhibits telling the stories of Avon Park. The museum also features a research room, complete with a microfilm reader/printer for viewings yesterday’s Avon Park newspapers. And, of course, visitors will find a museum gift shop. A former railroad dining car, built in 1948 and purchased by the Historical Society of Avon Park in 1986, sits adjacent to the museum. It is rapidly becoming a popular site for people-pleasing luncheons, historical programs and other functions. During the summer season, we periodically sponsor Sunday afternoon programs. These include both “chat rooms,.” where visitors are encouraged to share their memories of growing up, or a “speakers series.”

Avon Park's strong suit is its history. That's true -- but only if we work at it. And that's why we need your continued support to keep it alive.

Mission

Our mission is to record and display the history of Avon Park and the surrounding area within the museum, once a railroad depot for the Seaboard Airline Railroad.

Services
Gift Shop Museum

Gift Shop Museum Director Elaine Levey invites you to stop in and visit our ever-expanding gift shop. We now offer a selection of museum t-shirts, baseball-style caps and golfing visors. Also on hand are railroad engineer caps, in adult and child sizes. We also have a selection of lapel pins reflecting the railroad industry. We sell several history-related publications including The First Hundred of Avon Park by Leoma Maxwell and video materials (including Avon Park from Founding to Freeze and Living History of Avon Park).

Gift Shop
Group Tours
DISCLAIMER
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

April 27 - April 29, 2025

Oregon Museum Association 2025 Conference

TBA

Independence, Oregon

Beginning in 2025, the OMA annual conference will be held in Spring rather than Fall

The conference this year is all about trying new things. We are hoping to organize the conference into the following four tracks: Collections Care, Leadership, Emergency Preparedness, and Tourism

Check our website for more details in early 2025

The OMA newsletter is emailed every month with updates on OMA events, museum news, other events, trainings, jobs, grants and more for the museum community in Oregon.

For more information, please email connect@oregonmuseums.org.

October 1 - October 4, 2025

Western Museums Association’s (WMA) 2025 Annual Meeting

TBA

Reno, Nevada

Save the Date for WMA 202

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, join us to build relationships and soar higher than ever before. With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA 2025 will explore ways to lift up the experiences of cultural professionals and the communities they serve.

In Reno, Nevada, 4,400 feet above sea level, we will forward the progress of museums by looking to the future.

May 6 - May 9, 2025

2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) ANNUAL MEETING & MUSEUMEXPO

Los Angeles Convention Center

Los Angeles, California

AAM 2025 will focus on the theme, Museums & Trust.

Museums have long inspired high levels of public trust, surpassing news outlets, government organizations, researchers and scientists, corporations, and social media platforms. This consistent finding underscores our institutions’ unique position in society as stewards of knowledge, culture, science, and history—areas where credibility and reliability are paramount

In an era marked by mistrust and misinformation, museums have a rare ability to counterbalance the proliferation of false narratives and polarized perspectives. Using our trusted position, we can cultivate a more healthy, empathetic, and informed society.

But to do so, we must maintain our credibility proactively, embracing thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative practices that will defend against influences like bias, resource challenges, abuse of power, and social injustice

An Incredible MuseumExpo

AAM is again partnering this year with the Museum Store Association to host an incredible combined expo hall. Find the most innovative services, products, and solutions in the museum field. With 350 exhibitors, you are bound to find the right partner for your museum’s current challenges and opportunities.

May 5 - May 9, 2025

Museum Store Association FORWARD 2025 in LA

The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Join MSA in LA

We’re excited about our next MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo in “The City of Angels” – Los Angeles, California in conjunction with the American Alliance of Museums

Join the Museum Store Association (MSA) and hundreds of nonprofit retail professionals for the 70th Annual MSA FORWARD Retail Conference & Expo, taking place May 5-9, 2025 at The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Once again, MSA FORWARD will be held in conjunction with the 2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & Expo

Learn best practices and new ideas for store merchandising, operations, marketing, and sale

Participate in dedicated networking events and create connections that will inspire new ideas

Meet with over 200 MSA vendors about your product needs

Hear from knowledgeable industry experts during session breakouts and keynote presentations

Network with AAM attendees and exhibitor

September 10 - September 13, 2025

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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