DADE CITY, Fla. — "The museum officially started in 1961 we received a number of farmhouse implements as a donation," explains Andy Warrener, Historical Research Specialist at the Pioneer Museum.
Inside this property tucked away in Dade City, you'll find old Florida history.
"It tracks Florida history all the way through the Spanish colonization. Florida's history as a territory, as a state through the Civil War, through the lumber and the citrus boom, all the way up to 1945, which is the section we're standing in right now. The World War Two section or 1945 section," says Warrener.
Thirteen buildings line this property and give a huge insight into what Florida life used to be like.
"People underestimate just how much is actually here. They come in the main building, it's somewhat unassuming from the front. But then you proceed through the main building here. And you'll see the wealth of artifacts and presentations that we have just here in the main building," Warrener explains. "Then you push through into the six acres of property. And there are 13 buildings that are almost like mini-museums unto themselves. So most people that come through here when they say, I didn't realize you guys had all this, wow, I'm gonna have to come back later and look at this more. That's usually the response that we're getting here."
The focus here is also making sure we remember where we came from.
"Part of history is preserving it. If we don't hold on to some things in the past we stand to lose it. And that's exactly what this museum does. We capture those things, and we not only preserve and save them, but my job as historical research specialists, is to find out the history of these items," explains Warrener. "You know, I have an item that we're going to present this weekend [weekend of 7/23], there's a pair of shoes that were made in 1861, for a young soldier named William Michael hope. And that's, that's a fabulous piece of history, not just local, but dating back to that time period. And it's incumbent on a civilization to try to hold on to some of these things to try to remember what life was like back in those times. And so that's what this museum does."
The Pioneer Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Adults are $10, Seniors are $8, and students are $5.
They also have plenty of events throughout the year. You can read more about that by clicking here.
