Floral City Heritage Museum and Country Store

17/07/2026

This Wednesday, July 22 from 2 to 3 PM at the Floral City Library!! Come and learn the secrets of the Floral City Heritage Museum. Admission is free!

21/06/2026

The Citrus County Historical Society, Inc. has announced that it has digitized 6,938 artifacts for easy, public access to historical resources. The digital archive is available for free on the courthouse website at https://cccourthouse.org/archives/.

“We have made significant strides in accessibility and preservation by digitizing our collection of artifacts and photos,” said Historical Resources Manager Laurie Diestler. “Through high-resolution images and descriptive metadata, we offer an immersive and informative virtual experience that simulates actual interaction with these invaluable objects.”

The artifacts represent Citrus County history, including:

A military uniform from the Vietnam War with all the medals and cap, along with a Seabees wool uniform and cap.

A linen 13-star flag that is deteriorating but is believed to be original.

A Dictaphone with nine reels.

A boat wheel recovered from the bay.

Railroad lanterns and spikes.

Buoys and rope used in the bay.

Turpentine pots from Floral City.

Memorabilia from the Orange Hotel.

Coca-Cola bottles still containing soda from the 1950s.

Clocks, bells, quilts, the Centennial Quilt, alligator skulls, a canteen and spotter cards from World War II.

The archives also contain about 2,500 photos that residents can request copies of.

What a wonderful way to spend the warm summer days - perusing the history of our amazing county!

*This information courtesy of the Citrus County Chronicle*

21/06/2026

Don't forget this Wednesday June 24th at 2:00 PM at the Floral City Library, Floral City's own resident historian and Floral City Heritage Museum Director Tom Ritchie will present "The Three Rs of Floral City".

Reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic — the foundation of every good education, and a thread running all the way through Floral City’s long history. Join Tom for a look back at how this small town has
taught its children across the generations. Education has been a point of pride here from the very beginning — and visitors may be surprised to learn just how many schools and places of learning Floral City has known.

A natural storyteller, Tom brings the history to life with old photographs and the kind of warm, funny anecdotes that make the past feel close enough to touch. It promises to be an hour well-spent.

25/05/2026

This Wednesday at the Floral City Library from 2:00 to 3:00!!!

05/04/2026

Floral City said farewell to a beloved member of our community yesterday. Frank Peters, longtime Floral City resident and Florida native, passed away March 28, 2026.

A true community servant, Frank was a lifelong history enthusiast. After moving to Floral City in 2001 with his wife Phyllis, he became deeply involved with the Floral City Heritage Council, serving as Chairman from 2008-2015. He was a familiar presence during Heritage Days, where he delighted in sharing the rich history of the town he came to love. Frank designed the plans for the Heritage Museum, serving as Museum Director from 2009-2020. He served as the President of the Duval Preservation Trust from 2011-2020. Together with his compatriots on the Floral City Heritage Council and the Duval Preservation Trust, Frank worked tirelessly to ensure Floral City and its history did not fade into obscurity.

If you ever met Frank, you were impressed by his generosity of spirit, the depth of his knowledge about history and many other things, and the unalloyed joy he expressed in sharing his knowledge with others. Most of all, you felt his kindness.

Frank will be missed, but his memory will live on in his legacy of love, kindness, and the preservation of history. Rest well, friend.

22/03/2026

In 1925, a sharp businessman named L.G. “Doc” Ferris came to Floral City with his father, James Ferris.

24/02/2026

22/02/2026

New exhibit at the Floral City Heritage Museum!

Floral City owes much of its character to George Higgins, a master builder who came to the newly-established town in about 1890. He built several of the most important buildings in and around Floral City. Fortunately, some of his beautiful homes still exist. Higgins built a Folk Victorian house in the early 1890s on Orange Ave., across the road from the present-day Floral City Heritage Museum. He lived in it with his family for nearly 10 years, before selling it to Capt. W. C. Zimmerman. He then moved into a rural frame vernacular house that he built in 1903 next door to the previous one. This one was eventually sold to David A. Tooke, who had married Higgins’s daughter Eva Rae (it was extensively remodeled decades later). Higgins also built three area churches, including the extant 1884 Gothic Vernacular wood-framed United Methodist Church.

The Floral City Heritage Museum honors George Higgins for his contribution to the community partly through the exhibition of some of his personal hand tools, including both a cross-cut saw and a rip saw. However, the best tribute to this extraordinary man is to walk along Orange Avenue (a.k.a. the Tunnel of the Oaks) and Marvin Street (one block northward) in order to admire his exceptional skill as a builder.

22/01/2026

Good things are happening at the Duval-Metz House!