TAMPA BAY HISTORY MUSEUMS & A BIT BEYOND
The Tampa Bay history museums are founded on the principle, “The most basic task of any museum must be the protection of works of cultural significance entrusted to its care for the edification and pleasure of future generations.”
~Martin Filler, American critic
The museums listed below serve as repositories of the cultural heritage of Tampa Bay, researching, analyzing and displaying our local history. Visit these museums and attend their events to enrich your understanding of the people, the architecture and the traditions. Learn about life as it was lived in the past, and influences the present, here in our section of Central Florida.
TAMPA BAY HISTORY MUSEUMS BY COUNTY
Plant City History & Photo Archives
https://www.plantcityphotoarchives.org/
Steward of over 100,000 historical photographic images and documents representing the Greater Plant City Area, East Hillsborough, and West Central Florida, providing the public with open access to their collections and research resources.
Cracker Country
https://floridastatefair.com/cracker-country/
Cracker Country is a rural Florida living history museum located on the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, set on four beautiful acres of live oak trees.
Henry B. Plant Museum
https://www.plantmuseum.com
A National Historic Landmark in Tampa, the museum displays original furnishings and artifacts from all over the world immersing you in the opulence of the 1891 Tampa Bay Hotel and its rich history. During your visit, you will be educated and inspired by the lifestyles, times and experiences of Florida’s early tourist industry.
Tampa Bay History Center
https://tampabayhistorycenter.org
The three levels of exhibit galleries located near downtown Tampa, invite you on a journey through time, from the first indigenous peoples, conquistadors to cattle ranchers, Boom to Bust, displayed in a collection of 90,000 historical artifacts. It is one of the few Tampa Bay museums that can boast the status of Smithsonian Affiliate museum.
Tampa Baseball Museum
https://www.tampabaseballmuseum.org
Honor. Respect. Tradition. History.
Celebrate 135 years of baseball heritage in this historic bungalow, childhood home of hall of famer Al López, the first Tampa native to play and manage in the Major Leagues. Here, the many baseball greats that trained in the sun-soaked fields of Tampa, are honored.
Tampa Firefighters Museum
https://www.tampafirefightersmuseum.org
The Tampa Firefighters Museum preserves the heritage of Tampa’s Fire Department, telling a unique history as a former fire station with exhibits on local service history, firefighting memorabilia and vehicles.
Ybor City Museum State Park
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/ybor-city-museum-state-park
Discover charming Ybor City, Tampa, and its rich cultural history as the “Cigar Capitol of the World.” The museum has self-guided exhibits with written & audio information, plus a vivid video presentation that will propel you back in time to the origin of this lively, multicultural once city, now neighborhood.
Pioneer Florida Museum and Village
https://www.pioneerfloridamuseum.org
“Travel Through Florida’s History”
Voted in 2023 as one of the top places to take kids in the Tampa Bay area, displaying tools of the Florida Pioneer Man, showing how he built his house, made his furniture, plowed his fields, harvested his crops, and did his leather-work and blacksmithing. There are many wonderful historic buildings including the Trilby Train Depot, a one-room schoolhouse, the Methodist Church built in built in 1878 by local residents and replaced in 1903, a two-story 1860s restored house, complete with furnishings and tools which reflect the Florida Pioneer Woman’s everyday experiences, a general store, and more, in Dade City.
Rao Musunuru, M.D. Museum & Library
https://westpascomuseum.org
West Pasco Historical Society preserves the history of the local community to further the historic knowledge of its citizens. The Rao Musunuru, M.D. Museum is housed in a building which originally served as the Seven Springs school house. It was purchased then donated to the historical society. The interior of the building was extensively remodeled in 2010-11. At the grand re-opening ceremony on Sept. 10, 2011, the museum was re-named the Rao Musunuru, M. D., Museum and Library, in honor of a significant donor for the museum renovation.
Polk County Historical Museum
https://www.polkcountyhistory.org/museum/
The Polk County History Center located in the Old Polk County Courthouse and houses the Historical Museum and the Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library.
The museum collection includes natural and cultural objects related to Polk and the greater Central Florida area that represent the history of Polk County from its pre-Columbian beginnings, to present day eras. The artifacts on display at the museum represent individuals, cultural groups and events significant to the region. They vary from fossils to hand-made personal objects such as clothing and art, as well as tools and equipment designed for agriculture, military, communications, household and science use.
The library includes books, microfilm and periodicals containing information about the history and genealogy of the eastern United States. A selection of materials related specifically to the history of Polk County includes newspapers, aerial photographs, maps, city directories, property tax rolls, cemetery records and more.
Manatee Village Historical Park
https://www.manateevillage.org
The Park is made up of seven historical and five replica buildings or structures, along with Old Cabbage Head, our 1913 Locomotive. They also offer several permanent exhibitions designed to present how Manatee County residents worked and lived between 1840 and 1918.
Manatee County Agricultural Museum
https://www.manateecountyagmuseum.com
Agriculture has always been a stable force and a major contributor to the County’s economy. The Museum, in Palmetto, exhibits focus on the County’s primary commodities including livestock, vegetables, citrus, horticulture, and commercial fishing. See displays of tools, equipment, photographs and exhibits that reflect the area’s rich heritage.
The Ringling
https://www.ringling.org/
“One Location. Endless Wonder.”
The Museum of Art, representing a vast range of cultures, mediums, techniques, and stories; the Circus Museum, displaying the newest exhibit, The Greatest Show On Earth®; Ca’ d’Zan, the Ringlings’ opulent winter home built in 1926 and filled with their beautiful collection from all parts of the globe; Bayfront Gardens, featuring Mable Ringling’s 27,000-square-foot Rose Garden, completed in 1913. Lectures, films, performances, and more. Located in the City of Sarasota.
Visit, Join and Support the Tampa Bay history museums!
Tampa Bay has been a melting pot of cultures from the earliest times. From the first indigenous peoples, hunter-gatherers building dugout canoes for fishing in the area’s many waterways, to the conquistadors declaring the territory for Spain, to the swashbuckling pirates who roamed Florida’s coasts, to the furious battles waged as Grey met Blue on the fields of the Civil War, to the intrepid settlers who cleared the pine forests to build their homes and farms, to the wheeler-dealers of the real estate booms and busts, each has left their mark. You and your family can meet them all at the Tampa Bay museums- heroes and scoundrels, criminals and lawful, they have all played a part in our rich heritage.
Visit and follow Tampa Bay Time Machine
https://www.facebook.com/Tampa Bay Time Machine to get an overview of the current happenings, the events, the exhibits, the activities at all the Tampa Bay history museums.