Saturday, April 25, 2009

Cedar Key Museum State Park

Cedar Key State Park Museum is a Florida State Park located at 12231 SW 166th Court. The museum building has displays and dioramas explaining the Hurricane of 1896, the railroading days, the industries of Cedar Key (cedar for pencils, palmetto for brushes, and shipbuilding), Cedar Key's involvement in both the Civil War and Seminole Indian War, manatees, the wildlife refuge, and more.

The St. Claire Whitman house, which depicts Cedar Key life in the 1920s and 1930s, is a focal point of the museum. It commemorates the life of Whitman (1868-1959) who lived in Cedar Key most of his years...



...and is furnished as when Whitman lived in it from 1930 to 1959...





It features artifacts collected by Whitman during his life in Cedar Key, including exhibits on the Timucuan Indians, antique glassware, old bottles, an immense collection of seashells, artifacts from the pencil manufacturing days as well as the fiber broom and brush manufacturing days, and photographs and documents of old Cedar Key.

There is a short nature trail where you might view gray squirrels, doves, mockingbirds, Blue Jays, woodpeckers, and green tree frogs. John Muir ended his "1000 mile walk to the sea" in Cedar Key, and his bust is on the grounds.