ALL ABOARD!

Through this 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.

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

We tell the stories of Avon Park in a variety of ways. We boast a traditional museum rich in local history. In addition, we host a variety of programs for the community where our members share their memories of growing up in Avon Park (for example, their school days, their World War II days). We have a recently produced video that portrays the first nine years of Avon Park (and how it almost came to a sudden halt). We also hold an annual Pioneer Homecoming Picnic, complete with the naming of the Pioneers of the Year. And we also offer an annual banquet, featuring election of board members.

We have a growing collection of booklets that capture some of our history, including one on growing up in the Crate Mill Quarters of Avon Park -- even one containing the words and music of a song reflecting the history of our community. Upcoming is a booklet on a once local resident who was poet laureate of the U.S.; another, a manuscript penned by the founder of Avon Park; and yet another on the role that baseball has played in the history of the community. These booklets and other items are on sale in our museum gift shop.

Current plans are underway to erect a replica of a “hobo jungle” in time for next year’s Avon Park Mall Festival (these jungles were the living quarters of hoboes searching for work during the Great Depression).

Also underway is a project to collect and present the stories of the Black community of Avon Park, a project in partnership with South Florida Community College.

We also provide a unique dining experience in our railroad dining car. Groups from 15 to 40 can arrange for lunch or special occasions. Call us for more details.

If you would like to join us on any of these efforts, call 863-453-3525.

                                               NEW EVENTS SCHEDULE! 

     There's new fun, informative events scheduled at the museum! Click here for more information.