Updated: 8/4/2015 
Apalachicola Maritime Museum
Apalachicola, Florida
Description

We offer a variety of educational and recreational boat trips including historical tours, eco-tours, kayak trips, sunset cruises, sailing programs, and excursions to pristine barrier islands. Our exhibits, lecture series, and wooden boat building school provide a variety of educational experiences.

Mission

The museum was founded to celebrate and preserve the rich maritime history of Apalachicola in a hands-on learning environment with active sailing and adventure programs, boat building and restoration, and educational programs. Collectively, the activities of the Apalachicola Maritime Museum will provide a glimpse into the rich and diverse history of the three rivers that come together to form the largest river in Florida, the Apalachicola. Our mission is to help broaden knowledge and appreciation of this important, unspoiled resource and encourage stewardship of ecosystems in the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint river basin, and the Apalachicola Bay and Gulf of Mexico coastal regions, which rely upon river outflows.

History

Originally founded in 1995 with the Governor Stone, the Apalachicola Maritime Museum quickly became an icon for maritime heritage in Apalachicola. Maintenance and lack of adequate funding led to dissolution of the AMM in 2004 and departure of the Governor Stone.

The museum was re-founded in 2007 by George K. Floyd, whose maritime roots in the county go back to the 1840s. The primary exhibit of the museum came into port in October 2007 with the arrival of the L. Francis Herreshoff-designed 58-foot wooden ketch Quark. The Quark has since been renamed Heritage of Apalachicola to reflect her new mission of education. The design for this fabulous, all-wooden vessel first emerged from the drawing board in the 1930s, when it was used to build the Mobjack. The Heritage was the 63rd vessel built to the Mobjack plans.

We have plans for a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art facility.

Artifact Collections

We have artifacts from local shipwrecks, maritime trades, and navigational items. A Civil War Naval exhibit is in development with artifacts including weaponry, clothing, and items depicting life aboard ship. Historical nautical charts and impressive collection of historic photographs.

Research Collections

We have a growing maritime library.

Programs

We offer educational and recreational boat tours, kayak trips, and sail trips.

We host an ongoing lecture series. $5 admission includes a shrimp boil reception on the docks following the lecture. Speakers include historians, archaeologists, authors, and scientists.
We offer custom museum tours and boat trips for school groups, nonprofit organizations, and youth groups. Please contact us for details!
We offer custom museum tours and boat trips for school groups, nonprofit organizations, and youth groups. Please contact us for details!
Facilities

The museum is currently housed in a historic seafood processing structure along the city's waterfront district, which was renovated into a modern exhibit space. We have plans for a $4 million structure.

Library

Access: General Public

Appointment required: False

Services
Become a Volunteer

Learn to be part of the crew, participate in special events and be a part of the operations of the museum. The experience is priceless and the rewards are many. A variety of positions exist to match your talents and interests

Gift Shop
Event Rental
Restaurant
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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